Story Of A Girl
by LittleCharmers
Summary: Bella wasn't the only one in Edward's life, but nobody ever knew. This is her story as she goes through high school and life, learning "One of the hardest things in life is watching the person you love, love someone else." Edward/OC Edward/Bella OC/OC
1. Girl

**hm... this is a one-shot, could be something more, i congratulate you if you clicked on this btw, most people don't like the whole edward/OC pairing.**

**well, no flames are allowed, but i welcome any critiques, you can say anything about my character, you know, like she sucks, or she's horrible, or she rules XD, you know anything you want. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

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He sat in the classroom, like always in a bored blank state. He knew everything there was to know about the subject. He was in English class and they were studying works of Shakespeare and Faulkner. He searched through the minds of students, trying to find something interesting to listen to, but it was all the same, all minds were set on the new student Bella Swan. He was about to give up on his search and actually start reading the piece of literature until he saw the image of a ballet.

The image was dark, as the person had wanted and a spot light and suddenly opened and revealed the female's face. Edward looked around for the girl, and spotted her in a reverie in the corner of the classroom looking out the window. She was a fairly attractive human, she was small in height, smaller than Bella whose height he learned through the minds of others, but taller than Jessica. She had a heart shaped face with thick lips, which was praised in the western world. Her frame was small and she was quite thin, but her cheeks were full and soft. He noticed she had very light brown hair, not light enough to be considered dirty blonde, it was long and wavy, reaching her mid back, with bangs that reached her eyebrows. Her eyes were the most peculiar, she had violet eyes, which even for him, he found strange.

He read her mind, watching the ballet like a good show. He was impressed by her imagination of the art, and figured she had a passion for it. He noticed as she danced she recited the words of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, making a few mistakes here and there, but overall, she recited them with a love for them that he usually doesn't see except in scholars and those who dedicated their entire lives to the man's work.

Suddenly the image stopped and was replaced by a worried tone. He saw the teacher's face of disapproval as she simply nodded.

'If this child does not start paying attention to the class her grades will plummet even more, and I'll be forced to call her parents' the teacher thought and then explained it to the girl, who nodded in return.

He continued to read her mind, she heard her teacher's words, but did not listen to them. She had once again gone off into another land. The teacher left back to the board and continued the discussion and the students sighed. She rested her elbows on the desk and began to imagine a scene of act 1 of Romeo and Juliet. She was in an elaborated castle and she was the fair Juliet Capulet, dancing with Romeo Montague of Verona, played by her current infatuation.

She read the words from her book, acting them out in her mind as she read them, the bell suddenly rung and everyone sprung from their chairs and exited, hoping on their way to meet Bella Swan. She stayed behind, her mind still in a trance. Edward looked around and got bold and walked up to her. Luckily, there was nothing special about her blood and he could easily ignore the smell, and the burning in his throat.

"Hello" Edward said, she looked up and smiled at him.

'What do I say? He must've seen the teacher talking to me about my grades, does he think I'm stupid, oh God I hope not, he's one of the most good looking guys in school what do I say to someone like that?' She thought frantically, "Hello, I'm Andromeda Gates, you probably knew that, unless you didn't, well…um, now you know, unless you don't want to know, then you don't have to, I've gone to this school for a while, one would think they knew everyone in the school right, but it's okay if you didn't know me, and…" Andromeda suddenly shut up and played with her nails, 'That was terrible' she thought in defeat, Edward smiled at the thought. He thought her voice appropriate for her body, small and shy.

"Yes, I did know you actually, I just wanted to ask you something" Edward said

"Oh, what's that?" Andromeda asked

"Your eyes, have they always been that color?" Edward asked

"Why? You don't like them?"

"No, it's not that, their just…strange"

"Oh, well, they're actually contacts, I used to wear glasses, but ever since my parents got me color contacts I haven't been to go back to glasses, do you like them?"

"They're a nice color, are you trying to stand out?"

"Yeah, I'm hoping if more people notice me, then he'll notice me and ask me to the spring dance"

He already knew who she was talking about, and he was not that curious about him, he knew he had already planned to ask Bella to the dance, and barely knew that Andromeda existed. He decided to steer the conversation away from him.

"Andromeda is a very strange name" Edward said and she puckered her lips, she started organizing the words in her head and even though he knew what she was going to say, he was willing to listen.

"Um, well, my parents love Greek Mythology, and they love the story of Andromeda, the girl who was chained to a rock to be sacrificed to the great beast for her mother's vain behavior. She was rescued by Peruses, whom she married later on, and when she died, Athena arranged the stars for her honor and made her the constellation of Andromeda, and the Andromeda Galaxy. I'm not sure if I got everything right, but it's what I can remember" Andromeda explained. He wanted to chuckle, she had the majority right, but some points were wrong.

"I'll see you later, Andromeda" Edward said and walked out, he heard a sigh of relief

'Good, he left before any more damage was done' Andromeda thought

He smiled at her thought, and headed to lunch. He sat with his family as usual, and looked at a split in the wall, trying to block out all the thoughts at once. He slightly hinted Alice to control Jasper as he imagined drinking the blood of a female near him. He turned his head instinctively at the thought of his name, 'Edward' he tried looking for the source and it lead to the table where for the first time, he saw Bella Swan in person. She quickly looked away blushing and pretended not to be caught looking at him. He tried to see what she was thinking, but he heard nothing, saw nothing. He stared more intently, but still, nothing, it was like a blank slate, and he didn't like it. Out of frustration, he looked away.

He noticed Andromeda sitting on the opposite side of the cafeteria. Eagerness showed clearly on her face as she looked on to see Bella Swan. She slightly stood to ask her a question which she had been thinking about the entire time. She saw the object of her affection sit next to Bella and start talking to her, Bella seemed to be ignoring him, but she didn't notice. She sat back down in defeat, and stared at the food but not really touching it.

He didn't know why, but for some reason he felt the need to go comfort her, he fought against it and did not move from his seat. She started fiddling with the food and eventually threw it away. She stepped outside the cafeteria and started looking at the sky. Edward didn't know what came over him, but he found himself standing next her, watching the ballet play in her head again. She looked over to him and smiled.

"Hello" she whispered

"Why are you out here alone?" Edward asked

"I just needed some space to think"

"About what?" Edward asked, clearly knowing the answer

"Nothing, just about…nothing" Andromeda replied, sadness obviously in her tone

"Nothing must be really making you upset"

She smiled, "Nothing is being mean to me"

"What's it doing?"

"Putting all my efforts in vain"

"Efforts?"

"Mm-hm, I've worked so hard to get him to like me, I've taken make up tutorials and gone on diets, I fix my hair so it doesn't get tangled, I've painted my nails, and now I'm smudging my eyeliner" Andromeda replied wiping away her tears

He felt guilty, but he enjoyed seeing so much human emotion come out of her, he was shocked she revealed so much, but, seeing how she was at a low, he thought it reasonable. "If you have to work that hard to get someone to notice you, then he's obviously not worth you time"

She chuckled, "Says you, you never had to work for anybody, and beauty is just a gift given to you"

"I don't say this to a lot of people, none at all actually, but, you are an attractive girl"

"Thank you, I know I am, but I'm pretty, I'm not beautiful like I want to be, I'm not beautiful like Jessica, or even like Bella Swan"

He heard jealousy filling her mind, almost all the female population in the school was jealous of the new girl Bella Swan, and all the males were already having fantasies of them as a couple, he expected so much from those people, but he didn't expect jealousy from someone like her, who usually didn't care about things and was lost in her world of dreams and imagination.

"Bella Swan, like Beautiful Swan, makes sense, she's one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen" Andromeda said sadly, "No wonder Mike likes her"

Edward simply stared at her, for once he didn't intrude on her thoughts, he knew how emotional some teenage girls could be and didn't want to hear any of the drama in her head, even though he involuntarily heard some, he tried to push them out. The bell rang and everyone was slow to throw away the food and get away from their circles of friends. Andromeda's friends went outside and were left speechless to see Edward Cullen standing next to her. He walked past them and headed to his next class.

"Oh my God! Was that who I think it was?" Crystal said walking towards Andromeda, "He's such a babe!"

"What century are you from?" Andromeda said laughing

"Whichever he was born in, so, this one I guess"

"Oh my gosh, what was Edward Cullen doing here?" Shane asked

"We were just talking" Andromeda replied

"About what and I want details" Shane said

"He saw me out here, and I spoke about Mike, and I was such a loser! I cried in front of him!" Andromeda said

"Are you still upset about Mike? I don't get why you like him, he's such a dweeb" Crystal said

"Yeah, he's not even a delicious man candy" Shane said

"It's true, Shane should know; he's almost too gay to function" Crystal said

"Sweetie, I may be gay, but at least I don't have to steal lines from movies" Shane said and Crystal flipped him off, he took it and put it in his pocket.

"Stop it, can't you people see I'm going through a crises!" Andromeda exclaimed and hit her head against the table, "The man of my dreams likes another girl and I'm late for class!"

"Just who does Mike like? I mean seriously, does he like Jessica or what?" Crystal asked

"Well, actually I heard he's got his eyes set on the new girl, Bella Swan" Shane said

"Oh, that's new, another boy likes Bella Swan" Crystal said sarcastically, "I don't see the big deal with her anyway"

"Please, how can you not? She's hot and new, just the type most guys go after" Shane said

"Not helping" Andromeda said smiling at their idiocy

"Honey, don't worry, who cares who Mike likes, he missed out big time" Crystal said

"Yeah babe, because everyone knows that you are _the _hottest girl on campus, not the smartest, but definitely the hottest, hell, even Edward Cullen talked to you, has Edward spoken to her yet, I don't think so" Shane said and Andromeda smiled

"Edward Cullen actually gave Bella Swan some eyes today" Crystal said

"Seriously?" Shane asked

"Crystal, he just cheered me up, don't ruin it" Andromeda said and they laughed

"Come on, my little emo one, let's go to class" Crystal said and put her hand around Andromeda's shoulder, Shane did the same from the other side.

"We are so in deep shit with the teachers right now" Shane said walking with them

"What else is new?" Andromeda asked sarcastically

"Hey, maybe you'll get Edward Cullen for your next class and you guys can talk and maybe he'll ask you out to the spring dance" Crystal said

"Then maybe you guys will get hitched have an army of fabulous babies" Shane said and Andromeda laughed

"You guys are so over dramatic" Andromeda said

"We're the theatre kids, drama is what we live for" Crystal said

They each went their separate ways and Andromeda arrived at her class, she looked around, no new girl, she sighed and sat down. 'I really wanted to try and talk to her, there's two more periods left, maybe I'll get her in one of them' she thought and looked at the bored, almost immediately she started day dreaming and mouthing the words of Shakespeare as she danced to his writing.

She heard a loud noise and saw the teacher standing above her, he scowled at her and shook his head. "Well Ms. Gates? What's the answer?" he asked. Andromeda stuttered trying to remember the question when she had no idea what it was. He sighed and turned away from her, "See me after class" he whispered and continued the lesson. She groaned and buried her face in her hands. The bell rung and everyone sprung up from their seats and headed to the next class. Andromeda walked over to the teacher and stood waiting while he was finishing erasing the board.

"Mr. Gates, I've excused you many times, but your behavior in class has gotten out of control, your grades are dropping and you're barely passing, if you don't improve I'm afraid I'm going to have to call home" he said

"No, I'll improve I promise, if you complain to my parents they won't pay for my ballet lessons anymore, please don't" Andromeda pleaded

"Alright, I'll let you slip this one last time, but only because I think kids should express themselves with something they love and I don't want to take that from you"

"Thank you"

"Alright, go to your next class"

Andromeda nodded and walked out; she continued walking to her next class in a reverie and suddenly found herself swaying as she walked. She bumped into someone and all their books crashed down ungracefully. "I'm sorry" she heard the voice say

"It's okay, I wasn't paying attention" Andromeda replied and looked up from picking her books. There she was, Bella Swan, in the flesh. Andromeda blushed and quickly picked up her books, and walked past her, "I'm so sorry" Andromeda whispered reddening with embarrassment. She quickly entered her next class room and sat down and breathed in deeply.

"Are you alright?" Edward asked from behind, she quickly spun around and looked at him and looked away. He didn't know what he bothered asking, guess he just got fond of her.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just went through one of the most embarrassing days of my life, but I'll be fine" Andromeda replied

Edward chuckled, "Yeah, you bumped into Bella"

"You saw?"

"No, I um…heard"

"Oh, it must've been really bad"

"Some what"

"Do you think I'm a loser?"

"No, not yet"

"Thanks"

Edward smiled and the teacher walked in, "Everyone, take your places, today, we are going to learn about the most famous war in the world, World War II" the teacher said and everyone sighed.

'Can't they ever teach about monarchy?' Andromeda thought, 'or at least something remotely livable'

Edward focused on Andromeda's thoughts, knowing she would soon go into a day dream and put on a show in her head. He hoped that would distract him from the scent of the blood in the room and make him forget about Bella's, whose blood smelled so appealing, it almost traumatized him in the previous period. He watched the ballet she preformed in her mind. She made every spin and turn with exact precision, and took graceful steps during the slower parts of the song playing the in the background. Once again his show was interrupted by an angry teacher. Edward laughed at the thought of her continuously getting in trouble for lack of attention.

He had to admit to himself that she became his source of school entertainment, and was intrigued by her, although he had known about her ever since freshman year, this was the first year he had classes with her. The teacher finished the talk with her and resumed class. The bell rung and she quickly got up to leave.

'Maybe Bella's in my next class' Andromeda thought, Edward felt a distaste for that thought but pushed it away. She walked past him and he grabbed her shoulder and stopped her.

"Yeah?" She asked blushing slightly

"Hey, let's go somewhere" Edward said bluntly

"Uh…" Andromeda stuttered, speechless, "Like on a…d-date?"

"Sure, why not?" Edward said and gave her a smile; she dumbly nodded as if it were forced upon her for an unknown reason.

"When?" She asked

"Well, I was thinking now" Edward replied and walked out of the classroom. She stood there for a moment and followed him.

"But, we still have school" Andromeda said, "Wouldn't that be cutting?"

"Sure, but why should it matter, you're probably going to get yelled at your next period as well" Edward said and Andromeda nodded in agreement

"That's probably true" Andromeda said, "I space off even in gym"

"Well? Are you coming or not?" Edward asked

"Well…" Andromeda said, 'I shouldn't, but, I want to, I'm tired of being in this school, and my next period's with Mike, who's rejected my so many times I can't even count them anymore, so, I guess, yeah, I'm going'

"So you're going?" Edward asked

"Yeah, how did you know?" Andromeda asked

"You're…easy to read" Edward said and chuckled

They walked to the parking lot and Andromeda stopped while Edward kept going. "Um, whose car are we taking?" Andromeda asked, her keys were still in her bag, lost somewhere among the books and other carry-on. Edward turned to her and smiled, he motioned his head to a Volvo. "We'll take mine" He replied.

Andromeda stared wide-eyed at the car, she had seen it before, but never ventured inside it. She walked forward and caught up with Edward. He opened the door for her and she took the passenger seat and put on her seat belt. She looked around the car and saw a CD collection. Edward sat in the driver seat and noticed her looking at the collection.

"See something you like?" Edward asked

"Uh, I don't know much about music, I'm just surprised you have so many CD's" Andromeda said

"You don't know much about music? What kind of dancer are you?" Edward said chuckling

"How did you I know I dance?" Andromeda asked

"I heard it as I was passing down the halls and you were talking to your teacher" Edward explained, founding the excuse easily, "Here, I think you'll like this one" he took out one of the CD's and put it inside the player. Classical music came out, and almost immediately Andromeda imagined herself dancing to it.

Edward drove out of the parking lot and left her to her dreams. He looked at her and saw her mouthing the words of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet again; he smirked and had an idea on where to go.

They soon arrived to their destination and Andromeda was still in her trance. "Hey, we're here" Edward whispered in a way that made her completely red. He ignored all the blood rushing to her face and helped her out. He was already on the other side before she knew it. Andromeda stepped out and looked at the building, she knew it well. It was a dance studio.

"Come on" Edward said and led her inside; he turned on the light inside the studio, which had not been locked. Andromeda walked in and took off her jacket and threw it to the side. She walked through the studio looking at her self through the mirrors all around it.

"Why did you take me here?" Andromeda asked

"I wanted to see you dance" Edward replied

Andromeda looked at him like he was mad, and giggled. "What makes you think I'll dance for you?"

"I'm sure you will"

"Why?"

"Simply because you love it and you really do want to dance, even if it's not for me"

Andromeda smiled and looked around, "Will we be back before the school day is over?"

"Yes" Edward replied and saw Andromeda walk to her bag and take some clothes out. He looked at her questionably and then found she planned to use the clothing for an audition after school.

She took the clothing and went to another room, where she changed into more comfortable clothes to dance in. She put on the ballet shoes and stepped out. He smiled at her and she blushed lightly, but still stood proud.

"Do you want some music?" Edward asked

"No, it's fine" Andromeda replied, she took a deep breath and held it for a while and breathed out. She began to dance, the only sounds in the room were the pattering of her feet, as she turned and kicked and bent over.

Edward observed her, and saw her eyes closed while she was dancing, imagining her self in front of that crowd on a large stage with all lights on her. She began to move her lips with no sound coming out. But it wasn't music, it was words.

"Her wagon-spokes made of long spinners' legs, the cover of the wings of grasshoppers, he traces of the smallest spider's web, the collars of the moonshine's watery beams…" Andromeda recited as she continued dancing.

Edward recognized the words, Romeo and Juliet, Act I Scene IV, Mercutio's famous Queen Mab speech.

"Through lovers' brains, and then they dream of love…" Andromeda continued to recite and opened her to see Edward walking towards her. He took her hand and began to dance a different dance with her.

"O'er courtiers' knees, that dream on courtesies' straight, O'er lawyers' fingers, who straight dream on fees, O'er ladies ' lips, who straight on kisses dream, Which oft the angry Mab with blisters plagues…" Edward continued reciting for her.

She danced with him, despite her instinct to not to. His hands felt ice cold, and were as pale as marble, but she excused this with the weather and thought nothing of it. She had never known another soul who could recite Romeo and Juliet as well as he could. His velvet voice even made it sweeter to listen to and easier to dance with. He spun her and she gracefully landed in his arms, he dipped her and brought her back up and let her go.

"You're a surprising guy Edward" Andromeda said and walked over to one of the handles and started stretching.

"Can I ask you something?" Edward asked

"Does that one count?" Andromeda retorted

"No, I just want to ask you some things I can't seem to figure out"

"Alright, I guess"

"Why do you dance?"

"…Because it frees my spirit, it takes me places beyond this little town, it makes me feel like something greater than human, it gives me something to dream about, and something to love"

"What's your favorite color?"

Andromeda chuckled, "Violet"

"Hm, of all the males in the school, why is your affection towards Mike?"

Andromeda gulped, "I've liked him since we were in elementary school, ever since he played with me on the play box when no one else would, he was sweet and loyal, and would do anything for something he cares about"

"Do you love him?"

Andromeda stopped stretching and slid to the floor, "…I think so, what else can it be? I've been in love with him for years, he's never noticed, Jessica came along and took him from me, at first she and Angela tried being my friends, but in the end, just ignored me, and now this Isabella Swan is taking him and it breaks my heart"

Edward sat down next to her, "Are you jealous of Isabella Swan?" He already knew the answer, yes, but part of him wanted to hear her say it.

"…I don't know, I think so, I keep wanting to meet her, wanting to see what Mike is going after, see what's so great about her, why all the girls are jealous, even Lauren, and why all the boys like her, she has natural beauty too, ivory skinned and feminine…" Andromeda turned to see her reflection, she traced the outline of her face, and she was worried about her appearance. She rested her forehead against the glass and cried. Edward stayed silent, unsure of how to console her, he too found Bella interesting, but hated her in a way.

'Why can't I forget about him?' Andromeda thought, she suddenly stopped crying and wiped her eyes, "I've really have to stop smudging my make up" she said chuckling lightly

"If you want, I'll take you to the dance" Edward offered

"No, I don't want a pity date" Andromeda replied, "Big deal if they don't accept me, I'm happy just the way I am, and I have friends who love me, which is more than what I need, they'll be happy to be my dates"

"You're friends do love you" Edward said knowingly, remembering their thoughts about her, "Guess you aren't unlucky at all"

"Never said I was"

"Do you want to go your house, or back to the school?" Edward asked

"Take me back to school, I've got an audition to rock… or dance" Andromeda said and stood up.

Edward stood up as well and waited for her as she changed back to her original clothing. She stepped out of the dressing room and grabbed her jacket and put it on. They walked silently to the parking lot, she was nervous for her audition, she was also thinking about Edward, how kind he was to her, and she was grateful.

Edward opened the car door for her and helped her in, he went around and stepped in himself and took off for the school. He glanced at her every once in a while, she was simply thinking over the steps for her audition. "You know, you're the first girl I've met who didn't fall head over heels when you saw me" he said

She snapped out of her thoughts, and looked at him, "I'm sorry to say, but, when you already have an object of affection, everything else seems dull" She rested her head against the seat and looked down, one of her contacts fell out and she became frantic, 'Where is it? Where is it?!'

Edward heard her and picked up the small clear contact, and handed it to her. She looked up at him which revealed her original green eyes, she looked at the contact with defeat and sighed, "Great, I can see through one eye, and can't through the other" she mumbled

He chuckled and shook his head in amusement, "We're here" he announced quietly, he parked where he was parked before and helped her out and carried her bag back to the school entrance. She smiled at him and took her bag, "Well, in just a few more minutes, I'll be off to my audition"

"Good luck, I better be getting somewhere" Edward said

"Where?" Andromeda asked

"I have to request some changes in my schedule" Edward explained and her face dropped, "Not because of you"

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me everything" Andromeda said, she looked around and swayed awkwardly, "So, see you soon?"

"You won't see me for a few days, but yes, I guess soon" Edward replied, "Stand still"

Andromeda for some unknown reason obeyed, he put his hands on her shoulder and lifted her chin up. He placed his lips gently on hers and separated from them quickly. His lips had felt cold and stone like, to be honest in her part, it was like kissing a rock, but nevertheless she enjoyed it, and excused the peculiar touch with the weather conditions.

He nodded at her and walked past her to the office, she stood there, motionless. After a while, she bit her lip, and turned as the school bell rang.

'Edward Cullen kissed me' she thought in a dazed state, she kept repeating the thought for a while, 'Wait till Shane and Crystal hears about this, it'll be a field day for them'

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** I know, edward cullen is ooc, but he changes personily so fast, it shouldn't matter, for now, this will be a one-shot, i could continue it, but only if you tell me**

**so tell me what you thought, as i said before, you can critique my character in a positive or negative way, you could say she's a bad creation, or you could say she's better than bella XD, jk, that's just me dreaming, Bella's better. tell me what you thought about the story, boring, interesting...awesomeXD. just remember, no flames**

**Thanks 4 Readin!**

**plz review!**


	2. Disappear

**huh...I decided to continue O.o, but anyway. Thank you if you read the first chapter, this is the second, it's kind like following the twilight book, except faster with less details the book already mentions. Afterall, this is suppsosed to be the the story of a girl who saw things from the background and is supposed to give a backstage view on the story twilight.**

**So that's all for now, and yes, one day...Andromeda will meet Bella.**

**Disclaimer: i don't own twilight**

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Andromeda hurried down the hall to the auditorium, already in costume. She gulped nervously and tried to stay calm. There wasn't much competition, just a few other girls. She walked down to the end of the hall and waited her turn, but meanwhile watched the current girl's audition.

"Where were you?!" Crystal said coming up from behind

"We were seriously having a major heart attack" Shane added

"Relax, and by the way, I have to tell you guys something, you're not gonna believe it" Andromeda said

"What?" they both asked

Andromeda was about to tell them until her name was called onstage. "Later" she said and walked on. She stood in the middle of the stage and tried to look as poised as possible. "Alright, you may commence" one of the teachers who was judging said. She nodded and began to dance ballet. She changed from ballet to some pop and ended it with a ballet stance. The judges applauded and she bowed and walked off.

"Okay, that's over and done with, you never told us, where were you?" Crystal said

"Yeah, I mean, we waited for you in our usual spot and we both freaked when you didn't show up" Shane said

"Yeah, did something happen?"

"Yeah, some… I can't believe I'm saying, something major" Andromeda said and they got excited again

"Spill it, with details" Crystal demanded

"Honestly, I don't care if they're dirty" Shane added

"Well, today" Andromeda said and took a quick breath, "Edward Cullen kissed me!"

"SHUT UP!" Crystal yelled happily

"Oh My God! Don't lie to me!" Shane said with a hyper tone

"When did this happen?"

"How?"

"Was it French or American?"

"Did you kiss him or did he kiss you?"

"Where exactly did it happen?"

"Okay, it happened right before school ended, we went outside campus and to the ballet studio, and I don't know, I mean, he even danced with me. He took my shoulders and kissed me, American, and it happened right outside the front door of the main building" Andromeda explained

"Wait, he kissed you, and danced with you?" Crystal asked

"He even recited some Shakespeare with me" Andromeda said

"It's love" Shane said, "We have to go outside now, and mark this space sacred"

"This is so exciting, I can't believe it! Edward Cullen!" Crystal squealed

"Is that it?!" Shane asked

"Well, he offered to take me to the dance" Andromeda said, not so excitable.

"Offered?" Crystal asked

"Oh no, sweetie did you tell him about your crises with Mike?" Shane asked

"I might've" Andromeda replied

"You don't do that" Crystal said

"Oh my gosh, what if it was a pity kiss?" Shane asked

"You think?" Andromeda

"Totally legit" Crystal said

"This is really confusing" Andromeda said

"Look, don't worry, we'll head over to your house with you, and fix this problem" Shane said

"Okay" Andromeda replied

They all hurried to their cars and went to her house, which was comfortable two story house with a colonial look to it. They stepped in and were greeted by her mother in the kitchen. "Hey, you guys are home early, didn't go anywhere today?"

"No, we're in the middle of a total physical and personality make over" Shane said

"Does it have to do with my daughter?" Mrs. Gates asked

"Yeah, she needs some change" Crystal replied

"Alright, just keep the baby-sitting personality" Mrs. Gates said and faced Andromeda, "Annie, I need you to take care of your little sister"

"What? But I have homework" Andromeda said

"Well, if you have enough time for a make over, you should have enough time to take care of family"

"Okay, fine" Andromeda said and headed off to her room

"Okay, everything" Shane said, and Andromeda explained everything in full detail.

"Annie! You cried!?" Crystal asked

"I'm sorry" Andromeda replied

"You should be! This totally confirms it, it was a pity kiss" Shane said and they sighed.

"Okay, this is too much, I'm going to get something to eat" Crystal said and jumped out of the bed and downstairs to the kitchen.

"I'm going, we need to have a private conversation about you" Shane said and joined Crystal

Andromeda smiled and lied down on her bed and stared at the ceiling, she went to get Cat, her little sister, and tuck her in, but found she was already asleep. She went back to the room and saw the window open. "Who's there?" Andromeda asked

"Nice room, very spacious" Edward said coming out of the corner

"Edward!" Andromeda exclaimed, and her friends heard her

"No way" they whispered

"How did you get in here?" Andromeda asked

"The window" Edward replied

"Right, why are you here?"

"Just visiting to tell you good bye, and see you in a while"

"Okay, couldn't you have said that in school?"

"I'm not going to school tomorrow"

"Yeah, right, you're going away, so is that all?"

"Yes, that's all I came here for"

"Alright, bye"

"Andromeda"

"Yeah?"

"It wasn't a pity kiss"

He jumped out of the window like an ordinary human boy would do and once he was out of her sight, jumped farther away. She walked dizzily to the bed and sat down. Her friends came crashing through the entrance as soon as they heard the talking stop.

"What happened?" Crystal asked

"Was Edward Cullen here?" Shane asked

"Yeah, he was here, not for pity" Andromeda said dreamily

"She's hung up on him" Shane said

"Good" Crystal said

"Oh, it's reaching my curfew" Shane said

"Mine too"

"What do we do?"

"I don't know, look at her, she's out of it"

"Lovesick blues"

"I'm gonna get in trouble, so I'm heading out, okay?" Crystal asked

"Yeah me too" Shane said

"Okay, bye" Andromeda said still staring at the ceiling. They left for their houses, and Andromeda continued staring at the ceiling, and eventually fell asleep that way. Edward entered her room and watched her for a few moments. He didn't know what compelled him to take interest in her, she was like any other human, she worried about small things and had insignificant thoughts. So why did she captivate him so much?

Her dream was a simple one, she was dancing, but the auditorium was empty, it was just her. There was one person sitting in the front row, away from the spot light. He expected it to be Mike, but was shocked to see himself, sitting and watching her. Even as she had this dream, her legs danced in her sleep. He could see every movement of the leg creating a word, lines that Juliet said. He wondered if she dedicated the words of Shakespeare's Juliet to him. He left the room and headed towards his destination of Alaska.

Morning hit and she woke up, she took a quick shower and put on some clothing and her jacket. She went down stairs to eat some breakfast. "Hey mom, hi dad" Andromeda greeted

"Hey kiddo" her father said and kissed her head

"What was the big deal yesterday? Crystal and Shane were sure making a lot of noise" her mother commented

"Nothing" Andromeda replied

"No seriously" Mrs. Gates said

"…It's a boy" Andromeda admitted

"You have boyfriend?" Mr. Gates asked

"Not a boyfriend, I just found a new guy to like" Andromeda said

"Wow Annie, who is it?" Mrs. Gates asked

"Um, you know the Cullen's right?" Andromeda said

"Don't tell, you like that Edward boy"

"Is that bad?"

"I honestly prefer if you stick to Mike, he's a good guy, we don't know anything about this Edward" Mr. Gates said

"Boys are mean to me" Cat said slurping her milk

"That's because you slurp your milk and that's unladylike" Mrs. Gates said and cleaned Cat's chin.

"I'm going" Andromeda said

"Take care" Mrs. Gates called out after her.

"I will" Andromeda said and walked out; she got in her car and drove to the school. She parked and looked around for any signs of Edward; she saw Bella doing the same thing and suddenly stopped.

She felt awkward, two girls looking for the same guy, it was obvious Bella was looking for Edward, she was looking toward the Cullen clan, and all the boys were already around her. Andromeda shut the door and went in the school building. She walked to the spot were she met Shane and Crystal and saw them talking.

"Hey guys, what are you talking about?" Andromeda asked

"Edward Cullen's not here, did you like hit him with a stick or something?" Crystal asked

"Yeah, he told me he was leaving yesterday" Andromeda admitted

"Is that why he sneaked in your house?" Shane asked

"I guess" Andromeda said

"That's so romantic!" Crystal said

The bell rung and they all walked to class together. Andromeda continued the day as if Edward Cullen had never spoken to her, and she enjoyed it. The last period came along and she saw Bella Swan in the same class. It was gym and Andromeda looked at Bella, she could tell that Bella was detached and wasn't sure if she should take the opportunity to talk to her. Andromeda finally found the courage and started walking towards her until Jessica and Lauren took her away and walked to the gym together. Andromeda sighed and shrugged her shoulder.

They played volleyball and Bella was continuously getting hit by balls and tripping. Andromeda found it funny and giggled every time. Bella blushed every time she heard the small sounds of laughter. The day ended and everyone went home, as usual Andromeda went home with Crystal and Shane and they talked about stupid stuff and Shane would talk about the latest fashion and what's hot. Crystal had all the gossip from the school through the theatre club who were a small group, but very spread out.

"Eric asked Bella to the dance today" Crystal said

"Really? What did she say?" Andromeda asked

"She rejected him, what a loser" Crystal said and ate a cookie

"I hear Bella's been rejecting every guy she encounters" Shane said

"Me too" Crystal said with a stuffed mouth

"Oh, every guy?" Andromeda asked

"Yeah, have you been asked out yet Annie?" Crystal asked

"No, not yet" Andromeda said

"Don't worry, after Bella, boys will be lining up to take you" Shane said

"Thanks" Andromeda said sarcastically

They continued talking about those things until their curfew came and they left. The next few days were the same. After the third day that Edward wasn't there, Andromeda stopped looking and moved on. She would try to talk to Bella everyday just to be interrupted by one of the popular girls.

She checked if the casting roles have been put up everyday and her friends would say the craziest things to her, but that's why she loved them. One day, she stepped out of her car and suddenly, he was there, Edward. Bella moved forward to talk to him, but he quickly moved away. Andromeda noticed all of this and just shrugged it off. Her period with Edward came along and she saw him sitting there like he always had, she decided not to interrupt him and just take a seat.

Edward looked in her direction and moved to a seat closer to hers, "Hey, sorry I was gone for some time"

"It's okay, did you work out all the things you had trouble with?" Andromeda asked

"Yes, thank you, did you?"

"Not so lucky, no one's asked me to the dance yet"

"My offer still stands"

"I'm sorry, but I don't want a pity date"

"Alright, then, will you go to the dance with me?"

"…I'll think about it" Andromeda said, Edward knew a part of her wanted to say yes and another wasn't sure, Edward took his appropriate seat and the class began.

Soon he was staring at the play in Andromeda's head, but with a new Romeo, himself. Instead of feeling annoyed like he usually does when human females think about him in such ways, this time, he felt flattered. He continued to enjoy her reverie until the bell rung.

Andromeda was walking out, and Edward pulled her back. "Yes?" she asked. She wasn't sure why Edward would need her, but was willing to listen anyway. "Do you teach ballroom dancing?" he asked

"I know it well, I guess I could if I wanted to" Andromeda said

"Will you teach me?" Edward asked

"You don't know? Well, sure, I'm available almost all the time, but you have to call me some time ahead of a lesson" Andromeda said and took out a paper to scribble her number in it. She handed it to him and walked off. He did know ballroom dancing; it was one of the first dances he learned.

The school day had ended; Edward spoke more to Andromeda and decided when she would start teaching him. He stood in the parking lot, watching Bella, trying to read her thoughts, always kept a mystery from him. There was a screeching and before anyone had known what had happened, Edward had stopped a car with his shoulder and protected Bella. Andromeda saw Edward to the stunt and stared wide eyed. Everyone rushed to the scene and Edward simply ran off. Tyler and Bella were both taken to the hospital of course. After a crash, they needed to be checked.

Andromeda was unsure about whether or not to visit Bella and Tyler, until her friends convinced her to go, and they would go with her. They arrived at the hospital and sat down somewhere. Edward looked at Andromeda and motioned his head to follow him.

Her friends stared with mouths open and smiled, "Go" Crystal whispered, "He totally wants you"

"He's calling" Shane said in a sing song voice

"I know" Andromeda said and followed Edward; they stopped at a hall of the hospital, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, what do you mean?" Edward asked

"I'd think something would hurt after you stopped a van with your shoulder" Andromeda replied

He chuckled lowly, "You're mistaken"

"Okay, I won't ask you questions and you won't tell me lies"

"That sounds like a good plan"

"Edward" Dr. Cullen called out and motioned him to come over, "I'm sorry Andromeda, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave"

"It's fine, I shouldn't be back here anyway" Andromeda replied and walked back to the waiting room, "I'm going home"

"Why? What happened?" Crystal asked

"Was it Edward?" Shane asked

"No, I just wanna go home" Andromeda said

"Okay" they said quietly

"You didn't have to speak so rudely to her, you hurt her feelings" Edward said to Carlisle.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't have her listening in, Edward, you put our family's secret at stake here" Carlisle replied, and they continued to discuss

It was already dark and Andromeda had just finished tucking Cat in. She sat in her bedroom and decided to play a game, but quickly got bored with it. She stood up and began to practice her ballet. She heard a sudden open and quickly turned and saw Edward already sitting on her desk chair.

"Do you need something?" Andromeda asked

"No, I just thought I might want to visit you" Edward said

"That's flattering, but unnecessary"

"Do you have time?"

"A little bit, why?"

"I thought maybe we could practice some ballroom dancing"

"Well…fine, I think I have enough time"

Edward stood up and offered her his hand, she took it, his hand was cold, and she excused it by him just being outside. They started dancing, Edward purposely made mistakes, to make it seem like he didn't know, and she would teach him. Edward suddenly found himself pulling her into a kiss. He quickly backed away and looked at the time.

"I have to go" Edward said and jumped out of the window, Andromeda touched her lips which were cold from his and settled back in her bed.

'This is the second time he's kissed me' Andromeda thought, she rolled around for a while and went to sleep.

Edward sat in Bella's room, he was watching her as she dreamed, he had no idea what she was dreaming, but she whispered his name. He had been doing this for a while; he jumped off and ran to Andromeda's house, and watched her sleep. This time, he knew what the girl was dreaming.

As always, it had something to do with the arts, it was her and Edward, ballroom dancing across a marble floor in a grand palace, with the music that he had shown her playing the in background. Unlike Bella, she never spoke when she slept, her body movements were her language, a language which he took interest in learning. He wanted to tell them of his secret, but at the same time was afraid of their reactions.

He sat on Andromeda's bed, next to her sleeping form. He kissed her head gently so she would not feel the cold from his skin, but she still shivered. He walked back to the window and just stood there looking out. He had two emotions pounding on him that night: Guilt and Care.

He cared for them, both of them, Bella and Andromeda. They were different in many ways but he found a way to fall in love with both. He loved Bella's unique personality, he found her interesting and mysterious since he could not read her, and her curious nature intrigued and amused him. He also fell in love with Andromeda, with her dreams and ambitions. With her solemn passion and musings, and her love of Romeo and Juliet. He loved the confidence that Andromeda displayed in herself that Bella lacked. But he loved Bella's love for literature and intelligence, which even though Andromeda loved Romeo and Juliet, she was not a big reader like Bella. He showed care for both in different ways, and for that, he felt guilt.

He felt guilt shadow upon him. He felt as he was betraying both Bella and Andromeda. He also felt like he was betraying his family and everyone he cared for. He protected Bella, more so than he protected Andromeda, this made him feel some guilt, believing that he was betraying one more than the other. He felt guilt that vampires like him would fall in love and curse these two human females. What if any of them were to get in danger and it was his fault? What if Andromeda were killed by his own kind and all her ambitions disappeared with her life? What if Bella became more detached from her human friends and spent more time with him? He feared the guilt that would come if any of these things were to happen. If Andromeda were to lose her art and Bella her experience as a human.

* * *

**you know, when i was creating my character, i initially planned to make her mind unreadable, but i realized something, that maybe edward reading her mind would be better. Just like Juliet was honest with Romeo and didn't waste her time playing hard to get, edward being able to read andromeda's mind portrays that same honesty. **

**And also, i had to read some of the book to get a glimps of Bella's personility. It was hard to do since the story was in first person and you have to assume since you're walking in her shoes, when i was walking in bella's shoes, all i felt was a compulsive need to figure out edward, so i put curiousity. And also, you may think that it was too quick to fall in love, but if you read midnight sun, the vampire is crazy for her in less than two days O.o**

**So tell me what you think about my character, and her friends, you hate her, love her, she's awesome, she sucks, no flames thought. Do you love her friends, i do, but that's just me, tell me what you think!**

**Thanks 4 readin!**

**Plz Review!**


	3. Maybe

**alright, next chapter, i'm kinda enjoying writing this story, it's fun. well, i chose to do something here, most hardcore fangrils are going to stone me for it, but, read the commentary at the end, i'll explain.**

**I hope i'm doing a good job on capturing what teenagers would actually say if the hottest guy in school was after your best friend, so you can tell me how i'm doing and what i need to improve.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, all belongs to stephanie meyer**

* * *

Andromeda woke up to a particularly cold day. She didn't want to wake up and go to school; good there was just one more day after this one till the weekend again. She got up and put on some clothing, she chose carefully, this time, she was going ask Mike to the dance. She decided upon that yesterday.

She went to her sister's room and saw Cat playing with her stuffed animals, she picked Cat up and set her outside the room. "No, I don't want to go!" Cat protested. Andromeda closed the girl's door, "You have to" she said sternly. She took Cat's hand and dragged her downstairs. Cat ran to her father, who picked her up and started babying her.

"I'm going to school now" Andromeda called out

"Isn't it a bit early?" Mrs. Gates asked, "Not even your father's out"

"I want to go early today"

"Is it to check how you did?" Mr. Gates asked

"Yeah, checking the role sheet again" Andromeda replied

"Good luck bumblebee" Mr. Gates said and hugged Andromeda with one arm.

"Tell us how you did" Mrs. Gates called after her as she left the house

Andromeda drove to the school and parked her car in its usual spot. She got out of the car and went over to her friends, who were for once, sitting outside. She sat down next to them, "Hey" she said but they ignored her. She started getting worried and waved her hand in front of them. They looked the other way, and started pretending she wasn't there. Andromeda looked forward in disappointment, and decided to talk to them.

"Hey why-"

They suddenly turned and did a quick scream which made Andromeda jump and almost fall out of the spot she sat in. She recovered herself and saw them laughing. "That's not funny!" Andromeda exclaimed, smiling herself. Her friends nodded their heads, "Yes it is" they each said in between laughs.

"Oh yeah, did you hear?" Crystal asked

"No" Andromeda replied

"Tyler Crowley asked Bella out, like two times today"

"Did she reject him?"

"Duh, I heard from one of my buds in her science class that she's all over Edward Cullen"

"So she likes Edward?"

"Sweetie, everyone likes Edward at first, it a phase" Shane said

"No, I'm serious, I was told that she is literally obsessed with him, like her father complained to the school after hearing that the kids were not up to her expectation, apparently Edward ran away from her the day he met her, so the entire school was being mean" Crystal said

"What a whiny bitch, wanting to steal Edward from our Annie"

"What?" Andromeda asked

"I know, Annie so deserves him more than new girl" Crystal agreed

"You guys only think that because you're my friends" Andromeda said but was a little hurt.

"Do you really think Bella is going to get Edward?" Shane asked

"I think so, they were all buddy buddy yesterday" Crystal said and noticed Andromeda's face drop

"Oh no, sweetie don't feel bad, she's out of his league anyway" Shane said

"Yeah, and also, she has like, 500 more guys after her, if I were Edward I wouldn't like that" Crystal said

"It's fine, it's not like I'm in his league too, I wouldn't be surprised if he chose her" Andromeda said, Shane and Crystal were about to say something else until the bell rung. They walked to class together, talking about something else other than new girl or hot boy. Andromeda went to her first period and only luckily got a single look from the teacher for dazing off. She went through the rest of the day as usual, she didn't see Edward though, but was grateful. She didn't want to see him that day.

After school ended, the trio met up, "Hey Annie, do you want to go to Port Angeles this weekend?" Crystal asked. Andromeda nodded her head and looked around for someone, Crystal tugged her arm and snapped her fingers in front Andromeda's face, "Annie!"

"Huh? Sorry, I was looking for someone, and yeah, I want to go, for what again?" Andromeda asked

"Who were you looking for?" Crystal asked

"Don't tell me it's…' Shane said and frowned

"Mike Newton…is that bad?" Andromeda said

"Yes it's bad!" Crystal exclaimed

"It's a crime!" Shane added, "I thought you were over him!"

"Yeah, I mean, he's already asked Bella to the spring dance"

"He has?" Andromeda said suddenly stopping from their walk to their cars.

"Oh no" Shane said

"He asked her out to the dance?" Andromeda asked

"That's what I heard" Crystal said, "It may not be true"

"What did she say?" Andromeda asked

"She rejected him, said she was going to Seattle"

"That's good, which means she's not going to the dance at all" Shane said

"Yeah, she rejected Eric, Ben, Dane, and Tyler with that same excuse, so it must be true" Crystal said

"Okay, so he's still available" Andromeda said

"Um…" Crystal started

"Yeah?" Andromeda asked

"This is going to be bad isn't it?" Shane whispered to Crystal, "Oh yeah" Crystal whispered back

"Um, sweetie, Mike's going with Jessica" Crystal said

Andromeda nodded her head and quickly walked towards her car. Crystal and Shane followed her and stopped her. "We'll drive" Shane said. They all settled in her car and Andromeda broke down and cried. "I haven't asked a stupid boy, and I was going to ask him today" Andromeda whispered. Crystal petted her head while Shane drove to her house.

They arrived and Andromeda had calmed down. They went inside and straight to her room, each saying their greeting to her parents. Andromeda fell on the bed and buried her face in a pillow, "Don't try to stop me" she said muffled. Crystal sighed and removed the pillow, "You're not committing suicide over this" Crystal said and threw the pillow to the other side of the room.

"Now what?" Andromeda asked

"Well, we can still go to the dance together" Shane said and stood up and linked arms with Crystal, "I shall be the handsome date" the girls laughed and Andromeda threw a pillow at them. They picked it up and threw it back.

"Edward asked me to the dance" Andromeda said

"That's great! Have you accepted yet!?" Crystal asked

"No, I don't really want to go with him" Andromeda admitted

"Are you sick? Let me feel your head" Shane said and pressed his hand against her head

"I'm fine" Andromeda replied, playfully pushing the hand off

"So, let's talk about the shopping" Crystal said

"Oh my God, I know just the thing for you ladies" Shane said

Shane started explaining what the thing was for the spring season, but pushed it off by saying they had to wear winter colors because it's almost always winter in Forks. Andromeda took out a notebook and started writing the colors he named; he took the notebook and wrote down some colors just for her and some colors just for Crystal.

"Okay, Annie, I want you to wear either white or blue, no purple or lavender" Shane said

"Why? I love purple" Andromeda said and took her notebook back.

"No, you have the snow princess look, and that demands blue or white, other colors are gold, silver, or baby blue. Stay away from gold though, it's an old lady color, if I were you, I'd wear baby blue" Shane explained

"Okay, now me" Crystal said

"You're more like the weird crazy type, so I would want hm… purple and red, try more edgier colors, I'm going to bring something tomorrow to search for the color that really frames your faces" Shane said

He continued talking about it, and then Crystal got a phone call. She picked it up and went outside the room, "No way!!" Crystal yelled and thanked the person. She ran back in and took all the pillows away from Andromeda and sat Shane down, "Okay, what happened?" Shane asked

"Good new or bad news?" Crystal asked

"Bad news" Shane and Andromeda agreed

"Edward Cullen is taking Bella Swan to Seattle"

Andromeda's face dropped and she took a sharp breath, "Quick, good news!" Shane said urgently

"You got the part!!" Crystal yelled and Andromeda started yelling as well. They hugged each other and started jumping around and Shane joined, "I just got the call, you're in for the dancing part, and if you go to the vocal auditions tomorrow, you can get main character!"

"I can't sing!" Andromeda said

"Yes you can, you just have to believe in your self" Shane said

"No, I'm serious, I can't"

"Yes you can! You can! Sing for us now" Crystal requested

"I don't think that's a good idea" Andromeda said

"Please" Shane and Crystal pleaded, "You've never sung to us before, and we've been friends since forever"

"Okay" Andromeda said, "What do I sing?"

"Sing Summer Lovin' I love that song" Shane said

"Okay" Andromeda said, she began to sing Summer Lovin from grease and three seconds into the song Crystal and Shane were already grimacing.

"I love that song, just not on you" Shane said and stopped her.

"Yikes" Crystal said, "I think your off-key were off-key"

"I told you!" Andromeda cried and fell on the bed, "I can just stick to one of the background dancers"

"No, you get choice of song, and Grease isn't for you" Crystal said

They started to try out more songs and she couldn't seem to sing any of them right, "I've got an idea, this will work" Shane said, "I need you to start panting" Andromeda looked at him skeptically but started panting, "Keep going" he went to the bathroom and came back with a spray bottle of water, he quickly sprayed her side.

"Hey!" Andromeda exclaimed wiping the water off her face.

"Add baby and it's a Britney Spears hit" Shane said and Crystal laughed

"That could work" Crystal said, "Sing Britney Spears, she pants half the time, say baby and you're in"

"That's not funny!" Andromeda said but found herself laughing with them.

"We gotta go, take care Annie" Crystal said and hugged her

"Remember what I said, baby blue, I'll coach you when you're buying" Shane said and hugged Andromeda and left.

She practiced her ballet slowly, taking time to think about her movements. She started mouthing the words of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. "Lovers can see to do their amorous rites, by their own beauties; or, if love be blind, it best agrees with night. Come, civil night…" Andromeda recited with closed eyes, still dancing. She felt a cold hand touch hers and suddenly turned.

"If I profane with my unworthiest hand, this holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand, to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss" Edward recited, and let go of her hand.

"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, Which mannerly devotion shows in this; For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss" Andromeda continued and held his hand again

"Act I Scene V" Edward said and smiled. Andromeda couldn't help but smile as well, "If you could sing as well as you recite, you'd easily get that part"

Andromeda let his hands go and walked to her bed and sat down, "What are you here for?" she asked. He sat in a chair opposite from her and looked away. "I heard you were taking Bella to Seattle"

"News sure spreads fast" Edward said feeling guilty for her thoughts

"So it's true" Andromeda said, "I guess your offer and question are both in vain"

"I only said I would escort her to Seattle, I can come back in time to take you to the dance" Edward defended

"I don't want to rush you, after all, you're going to be with dear Bella" Andromeda said

Edward felt it again, that pang of guilt, she knew of him and Bella leaving the school today, heard it in her last period when Bella wasn't there. He avoided her in lunch today, talking to Bella instead, she knew that too. She was right, he was a jerk, well, and that was a little cleaned up.

"I want to take you" Edward said, she didn't believe him

"What were you and Bella talking about, during lunch?" Andromeda asked

"Nothing important"

"I'm really getting sick of you lying to me"

"How do you know I'm lying?"

"Bella ditched her circle of popular friends for nothing?"

"She just wanted to ask me some questions"

"Why is your hand always cold one of them?"

"No, I'm afraid not"

"How about this, how did you stop a van?"

"She asked that one"

"And you said"

"Guess"

"Now I'm asking you, what do you say?"

"Guess"

"…Steroids?" Andromeda asked and Edward chuckled, "That's a new one" he commented

"Do you wear contacts too?" Andromeda asked, noticing his eyes change every once in while

"No, it's hereditary" Edward replied, she believed him. Edward was impressed that she wasn't constantly gawking on his appearance; unlike most girls he got this close too. He kissed her jaw and she pulled back from the cold touch. "I can teach you to sing"

"So you know how to sing?" Andromeda asked touching her jaw and pulling her arm down

"Well enough" Edward replied, "Think of it as payment for teaching me to dance"

"Okay, good luck on your part, hope you have patience" Andromeda said

"I'll try my best" Edward began to teach her by ordering her to sing La and hold the not at the end. When he waved his hand she would raise it a pitch. The first 30 minutes were horrible, she couldn't hold a not to save her life, good news was, the higher the pitch, the better she was.

"Don't breath with your nose, breath with your lungs, use your diaphragm, if you breath through your nose you're basically absorbing the sound, the sound needs to come out clearly, so try opening your mouth a little more as well" Edward said, she did as she was told and sounded a little bit better.

"It's getting late" Andromeda said looking at the clock, "You should go"

"Alright" Edward said and stood up to leave, he saw her imagine them as Romeo and Juliet, when they broke the rules and kissed. He turned back towards her and pulled her up.

"Do you need something?" Andromeda asked

Edward took her hand and planted his lips firmly on hers, she felt cold against him, but didn't push away. Even though she had not known it, they broke the rule. She was human, he was not, but for some reason he kept kissing her. He knew the reason, because he wanted to, because he could not find the strength in himself to part from her. She gently pushed him off and bit her lip.

"It's getting late, you should go" Andromeda said, she felt guilt, she felt as if he were not hers and had no business with him. Little did she know he knew.

Edward nodded and left the room through the window. She picked up all the pillows from the floor and walked back to her bed and threw them. She let her self fall on the pillows and looked at the phone for a while. She wanted to call up Shane and Crystal, but couldn't because of the time. She sighed and started humming, the only thing close to singing she could do.

'Edward's a great guy, but he likes Bella, I think he likes me too, no, I'm pretty sure he does, he does say I'm pretty, and I am, not meaning to be bragging of course, but I am pretty, Edward likes me, so why doesn't Mike?' She thought, she got into a fetal position and buried her self in the mass of pillows she used only for decoration, 'I can't believe I'm still thinking about Mike, I keep doing this to my self, I wonder if I'm masochist'

She continued thinking about things, she thought about her excitement for the dance, and soon prom, what she was going to wear, the dance audition she nailed. Her goals for the future were her last thought, she promised she was going to make all her dreams come true, to no one but her self. More than anything, she wanted to be a professional dancer. She fell asleep on that thought.

Edward went back in her room, he heard everything. He watched her as she slept and dreamt. He usually enjoyed her dreams, none of them were very complex, but this night was different. She dreamt of the dance, and she was dancing with Mike, they ended one dance and kissed. Edward turned away, revolted, he became filled with jealousy, he never saw the idiot as a threat before, but ever since she came along and he saw into her emotions about him, he had to fight the urge to confront Mike. Her dream continued, showing no signs of him, he stood and left, unable to watch the object of his affection dream of another.

Andromeda woke up and saw her window still open, 'I thought I closed it' she thought and went over to close it. "You did" a voice from the corner said, Andromeda jumped and turned towards the voice, "Edward?" she asked.

"Don't go to school today" he said

"Why not?" Andromeda asked

"He's not going to be there"

"Who?"

"Mike Newton"

"Oh, how do you know?"

"I overheard, they're skipping to go to La Push beach, it is a nice day today"

"How come you're not going?"

"Too sunny for my taste"

"Okay" Andromeda said confused, she walked over and picked up the phone, she called Crystal first.

"_Yeah?" _Crystal asked over the other line

"I'm missing school today" Andromeda said

"_What? Why?" _Crystal asked

"Um…I'm going on a date"

"_With who!?"_

"Edward" She whispered

"_That's crazy! I'm so proud of you! Why are you still talking to me? Go!"_

"Alright, thanks, wish me luck"

"_Good luck Annie, use your charm, if that doesn't work, use your boobs"_

"Bye Crystal"

"_Bye sunshine!" _Crystal said playfully and hung up

Edward looked a little surprised at her, "Why didn't you tell her you were sick?" he asked. She stopped dialing Shane's number and looked at him, "Because if I had told them I was sick, they would've just cut school as well and come here to take care of me" Andromeda explained, "Unless you want me to call them back and say to come over"

"Just call your other friend" Edward said, he wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to spend the day with her. He was angered by her dreams and feeling for Mike, and was not sure if he could keep himself composed.

She dialed Shane's number and he quickly picked up, "Hey, Shane"

"_Hey sweetie, what are you calling for? Did you're man-candy come and sweep you away last night?"_

"No, that's today"

"_Oh my God, are you joking? Don't kid around with me, this is vital, I just might have a heart attack"_

"Yeah, it's true, that's why I was calling, I can't come to school today"

"_If this is seriously happening, I don't want you to, I should've known, yesterday Jennifer Anniston and John Mayer broke up and I knew it today was going to good, I could feel it"_

"Okay, wish me luck"

"_Good luck, and also, don't wear green and yellow together, not good, and people think pink and green go great, yeah I don't think so, it's a sunny day so wear warm colors, I recommend ivory or light brown, beige looks good, wear a beige long sleeved sweater, v-neck, and a low white tank top on bottom, so you can show just enough, but not too much, and with some sexy color-washed boy-cut pants, you're good to go"_

"Okay, got it"

"_Don't ask too many question, guys find that annoying, and don't act compulsive or obsessive, do not, I repeat, do not, ever, go looking for compliments, talk about relationship expectations, and don't complain about past relationships"_

"Thanks, how do you know this stuff?"

"_How do I not know this stuff is what you should be asking, now go and win this guy over" _

"Bye" she said and hung up, she turned to Edward, who was looking out the window. "I'm going to change, can you wait here for a moment?"

"Sure" Edward replied

"Thanks" Andromeda looked over her closet to see if she had anything that fit Shane's description, luckily, she did. He had made her buy something like this in case it would ever happen; sometimes it's nice to have persistent friends.

Edward smiled, now she was trying to look her best for him and not the idiot, "Don't wear any make up, not appropriate for where I want to take you" he said, she wondered where they were going but complied. She took the clothing and headed into her private bathroom, thankfully, she and Cat didn't have to share.

She soon came out, her hair was untangled and cleaned up, and she fixed the edges of the shirt and adjusted her pants well on the side. Edward smiled at her, "You look enchanting" he said and she smiled, "Thanks" she replied. Edward mentally chuckled at her modesty, knowing she thought so too.

"Are you going through the window or the front door?" Andromeda asked

"Do your parents mind if I take the front door?" Edward asked

"I'll explain"

"They must be understanding people"

"We'll see today"

Edward raised an eyebrow and just chuckled and shook his head. "Whatever you say" he said, they left the room and walked down the steps, with Andromeda ahead.

"Hey Annie, what do you feel like eating?" Mrs. Gates asked and spotted Edward, "Well, who's this?"

"Um, this is Edward Cullen, you know-" Andromeda began

"Yeah, Dr. Carlisle Cullen's boy, right?"

"Yes ma'am" Edward said and politely waved

"Where did he come from?" Mr. Gates asked walking in from the living room, carrying Cat, "I didn't hear the door opening"

"How did he get in here Annie?" Mrs. Gates asked

"I can explain" Andromeda said nervously

"Please do" Mrs. Gates said

"Don't worry, we weren't doing anything…" Edward began and remembered Cat, "inappropriate"

"I hope not" Mr. Gates said, not really believing Edward

"Oh, oh no! It wasn't anything like that! Um, I asked him to come over last night, but not for anything serious, it was a dare, and Shane dared me to call him and Crystal dared me to invite him over" Andromeda lied

"Crystal and Shane left before we went to sleep" Mrs. Gates said

"It was over the phone, three way call, you know" Andromeda was getting nervous

"If we call Shane and Crystal, would they testify to this?" Mr. Gates asked

"How come he came over so late?" Mrs. Gates asked and looked at Edward

"I got into some trouble with Carlisle and thought it would be best if I left the house, I didn't want to go back so late and wake everyone up, so I just stayed over, and slept on the floor"

"Can we call Carlisle and check if this is true?" Mrs. Gates asked

"Yes, go ahead, he'll take your call any time of the day" Edward said

"So you're going to school together?" Mr. Gates asked, not liking the idea

"Yes, I hope you don't mind, but I'll be driving as well" Edward said and Andromeda looked surprise

'What?' She thought

"Andromeda's not feeling well, and I'm not comfortable letting her behind the wheel" Edward explained

"Annie, if you're not feeling well, don't go to school" Mrs. Gates said worried

"It's nothing, it's-" Andromeda thought of an excuse but was interrupted

"She's upset" Edward said

"Why? What happened?" Mrs. Gates asked

"Did some one hurt her?" Mr. Gates asked

"No, she just got rejected by Mike yesterday, he said he wasn't interested" Edward said sharply, "And he's never going to be" he whispered

"Oh Annie, are you okay? I know how much you liked him" Mrs. Gates asked very worried

"I can't believe a nice boy like Mike would just turn down a girl so flatly, I blame the rap music" Mr. Gates said and Cat giggled

"Do you want anything to eat? I'll make your favorite" Mrs. Gates asked

"No" Andromeda replied with a broken voice. Edward looked at her, she looked as if she were ready to break down crying, she was thinking about Mike and how Edward was right, Mike will never take interest in her. She was obviously hurt and he caused it. Edward felt like a dick.

"I'll get her something to eat on the way" Edward said gently

"Okay, if you ever need someone to talk to, mom's right here okay baby? It's going to be fine" Mrs. Gates said and hugged Andromeda lovingly, "Cute outfit" she commented and Andromeda smiled, "Shane?" Andromeda chuckled and nodded.

"Bye mom, love you" Andromeda said and started walking

"I love you too dad" Mr. Gates said and Andromeda laughed and hugged him as well

"Let's go" Edward said and left the house with her following, they got to the car and Edward walked to the driver's side, "Give me your keys"

Andromeda took out her keys and threw them at him and opened the door and went in and slammed it. She was upset at him, he didn't blame her, he acted immaturely. He went in and drove out of the drive way. "Do you want to get something to eat?" he asked. She didn't respond.

"I'm sorry" Edward apologized quietly, she still didn't reply, she folded her arms and looked out the window. Edward sighed and stopped the car on the side of the road. She didn't say anything, but was curious why they stopped, "I'm sorry for I what I said, but you're acting like a petulant child"

"Me? I'm the on-" she stopped talking, and looked away, "You didn't have to bring him into this"

"You're right, I didn't" Edward responded, she was deeply hurt, he felt worse for his actions.

"Maybe you're wrong, maybe he'll notice me and leave Jessica, it's not to late" Andromeda said but inside she knew it wasn't true.

"You know that will never happen, at least not now, just forget about Mike, he's not worth your time" Edward said

"And you are?" Andromeda challenged, Edward was taken back a little, but he deserved it, she still cared about Mike, and he hated that, he hated that she still had dreams of him even though he treated her like non-existent crap.

"I care more about you than he does" Edward said softly. He looked through the glass and saw Andromeda had been crying; now he really felt like a dick.

"Why me?" Andromeda asked quietly, "Can't you like some one else and move on?"

"I don't know why you, you just…caught my eye" Edward said, he himself did not know why she mesmerized him so much.

"I'm not hungry" she finally said after a while

"You need to eat" Edward replied

"I'm not hungry right now, so I'm not eating"

"What if I make you?"

"How? Hit me? Force the food down my throat? I can just call the police, if that assault doesn't work, I can tell them you broke into my house"

For the first time in a century of living, Edward was left speechless. He hadn't expected that type of reply, he sighed and faced the road, "Just promise you'll eat later"

"I promise" Andromeda said, he smiled knowing she was telling the truth.

He continued driving to their destination; they were silent the entire way. In a way, he was listening to her, she didn't know, but he was listening, she didn't think about a lot of things. Just dancing, and the scene of Romeo and Juliet when Juliet found Romeo dead and friar Lawrence was eager to leave the Capulet tomb. They arrived after a while; it was a trail that leaded into the forest.

"What are we doing here?" Andromeda asked, before she knew it, Edward was already on the other side opening the door for her.

"Come with me" Edward said and offered her a hand, she took it and he helped her out of the car. He led her into the forest and looked back every once in a while to see if she was having any difficulty.

She wasn't, her steps were precise and graceful, one he would expect from a dancer of many years, she jumped over the roots as if they were bars in a studio and walked around the rocks as if it were part of her dance routine. He led her to a spot in the forest, where there were many spots of sunlight around. Not bright enough to make his skin sparkle, he stopped and turned to her. Lost in her daydream, she bumped into him; he just chuckled and stepped back.

"Why are we here?" Andromeda asked, she leaned against a tree and started looking around. She didn't see a forest, she a saw a stage of a ballet, filled with obstacles which told the story. He smiled and walked towards her; he pulled her closer to him and put his arms around her waist. She was nervous; she didn't really know what to do next. Edward smiled at her inexperience and she blushed. She leaned against his chest, unsure of what to do, and just stayed that way.

"I have to tell you something" Edward said quietly

"What?" Andromeda asked

"I won't hurt you, just try to be calm"

"What are you talking about?" Andromeda asked pulling away, he was scaring her.

"I'm going to tell you…why I was able to stop the van, why my skin is pale white and ice cold"

"You're scaring me"

"I'm sorry, but I have to, I've decided I have to"

"Why?"

"Because you deserve to know"

* * *

**Before the hardcore fangirls start attacking me, let me explain, he may or may not tell her she's a vampire, i haven't really decided yet, but i have decided the reasons for telling or not telling her. I've done this to move the story along quicker, i have my reasons for that too, just not going to explain them. **

**On the bright side...Andromeda thought he was on steroids . beat that stephanie meyer, jk, she probably could ^^**

**I'm really watching this Oc, there's a lot of things that could go wrong with her, so i have to keep a close eye on maining her original planned character, not let her stray so over the top**

**Tell me what you think, critiques are welcomed, no flames, i accept disagreements in a polite way.**

**Thanks 4 Readin!**

**Plz Review!**


	4. Paper Field of Flowes

**this is chapter 4, for me this is deep enough in the story where i decide i'm interested. So if you're still reading, then you must be interested, and i'm not sure whether you like this or not, but when it comes down to oc's i'm not the most creative. so i like it when the authors or creators give me a picture of what they're character is supposed to look like. I don't know how many of you are like that but i decided to put images up anyway.**

**Yeah, you can see what Andromeda appearence is supposed to be close to by simply going to my profile and seeing these little sections on all my oc's from different fandoms and just check the last section. there are two versions depending on the kind of twilighter you are. and there's also my opinion on what edward and bella should look like. So if you're not very creative or not good with imagery and like my oc and are curious to see what she "looks" like, then feel free to check it out.**

**no flames.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own twilight. **

* * *

"What are you talking about Edward?" Andromeda asked, frightened

"Think about it, how am I able to get around the car so fast, save Bella from across the parking lot, stop a van, why is my skin this way, cold and white" Edward said

"I don't know, you're special I guess"

"Is that all you guess? What mythological creature scares you the most?"

"Um…pixies"

Edward looked at her astounded and laughed, "Pixies?" he shook his head, "You really are something else"

"Well, I always though they were the fairies enemies, and I love fairies" Andromeda explained nervously

"Think darker"

"Um…werewolf?"

Edward scoffed, "You can do better than that" He looked at her, she got it. She thought about it and he heard, this time, she hit mark.

"Vampire?" Andromeda asked, after a while he still didn't say anything and she caught on, "…Vampire?" she stepped back, "But they're not real"

"They are, and all of them are cursed" Edward said somberly, he was being so seriously, she expected him to come out and say it was a joke anytime, but he didn't. Andromeda stepped back even further, fear overtaking her. She wanted to scream, but disbelief stopped her.

She shook her head and shut her eyes hoping it was just a bad dream. She was alone in the forest, with a vampire, that didn't sound swell at all, "I don't believe you" she whispered

"I'm not lying" Edward said suddenly appearing behind her, "I won't to lie to you"

"Why are you telling me?" Andromeda asked

"I don't want to hide, not from you" Edward said

"Does Bella know?"

"She's suspicious; she'll figure it out soon"

"How come you told me? You left her to figure it out, but told me"

"Hm, because, you can't hide anything from me, so I chose not to hide anything from you"

"What do you mean?"

"Guess"

"…stalker?"

He chuckled, "I know you're really not thinking that"

"Mind-reader?" Andromeda asked, he nodded once, "Okay, this has officially become too much, I'm leaving"

Andromeda walked quickly away, but forgot which direction to take; she turned and saw Edward leaning against a tree, knowing she wasn't going anywhere, "How do I get back?" she asked

"I'll take you" Edward said, Andromeda walked over to him and touched his hands, still cold regardless of the warmer day, "It's not going to change temperature"

She gulped, she imagined Edward killing her with those hands, him drinking blood. She thought about dying in this forest, how distasteful the idea sounded. He looked at her with softer eyes, trying not to scare her anymore.

"I'm not going to hurt you" Edward said

"Why did you bring me all the way out here, if you're not going to kill me and just leave my body behind?" Andromeda asked

"I wanted to be someplace private where people aren't likely to walk in" Edward replied calmly

Andromeda pondered the reason for a while and looked around, "Why didn't you tell Bella?"

"Out of all the minds in the world, she's the only one whose mind I can't read, since I can't figure her out, I thought it'd be fun to let her figure me out"

"Is that all?"

"…I, I can't risk telling Bella, I want to protect her, I tried staying away at first but that failed miserably, in a way, I want her to know, so she realizes the monster I am and leaves, so she knows the threat she's placing on herself and on my family's efforts"

"So I'm not a threat?"

"A smaller one, you're blood is not nearly as appealing to me as Bella's" Edward heard her thinking in disappointment, "You should be happy, if you were as appealing to me as she is, you'd be dead by now"

Andromeda nodded, "Okay, good to know"

"I also felt like I could trust you" Edward said after hearing her think if that's the only reason he spent time with her

"Really?" Andromeda asked

"You can't hide your thoughts from me, I know what type of person you really are, that's the good thing about being able to listen to others thoughts, you know what they think of you and sometimes you see their view on the world" Edward said thoughtfully, "You're very entertaining"

"How come you're able to go out during the day?" Andromeda asked curiously

Edward chuckled, "It's not bright enough to effect me"

"So you sleep at night?"

"I don't sleep"

"At all?"

"No"

"Have you really drunken bloo…"

"Yes, I've drank blood before, it's been my diet since I became a vampire, I stopped drinking human blood long ago" He looked at her, she wanted to ask something but was afraid of the answer, "Everyone whose blood I drank I killed"

Andromeda looked away and bit her lip, "But you stopped right?"

"So far, but I never know when Bella's scent might drive me to the end of my strength"

"What happens when your skin touches sunlight?" Andromeda asked, 'Does he melt?'

He laughed lowly, "No, not exactly"

"Then what?" Andromeda asked and felt weird since he just answered a question without asking it

"Come with me" Edward said and offered her a hand, she took it and he lead her to one of the parts of the forest where sun shone through. She looked at him curiously, with many thoughts racing her mind she was eager to see what happened.

Edward wasn't so sure, but stepped into the ray of light. Andromeda gasped as she sparkled bright, like thousands of diamonds. She wanted to touch his skin to see if there really were diamonds there. He didn't look intimidating, he looked beautiful, that was the first time she felt compulsively attracted to Edward Cullen's appearance.

Edward expected that reaction, what he didn't expect was the giggles coming soon after it. He looked at Andromeda so see her giggling softly, he raised an eyebrow and walked out of the sunlight and put his arms around her waist, "Vampires aren't as scary when they sparkle huh?" Edward asked

"They're just, so pretty, I wonder if it's to attract humans" Andromeda said, Edward thought about it himself, he didn't think about it much, but now that he did, it sounded reasonable, "Maybe you're right" Edward said

Andromeda smiled and rested her head against his chest, no heartbeat. Edward took her hand and put her palm against his, "O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do; they pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair." Edward recited

"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake" Andromeda continued reciting

"Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged."

Andromeda smiled, "Act I scene V" she whispered before feeling Edward lips against hers once more.

He sat down against a tree and Andromeda took her seat in-between his legs and rested her upper body against him and closed her eyes. Still no heartbeat, but she didn't mind, she surprised her self by being so understanding. She smiled; "You know, Goths would kill to be in my shoes right now" Andromeda said and looked up at him.

He smiled and shook his head in amusement; she reached up and kissed him quickly. He rested his forehead against hers, she moved her head downward and Edward rested his chin on the top of her head. Thoughts raced through her mind, some were interesting, most were insignificant, he noticed the smell of blood pool in her cheeks and smiled.

He was glad being able to know her thoughts, even if it was an intrusion of privacy. What most men wonder about the women they love, he knew. He was able to know her without the use of dates which most people lied in. He knew what she desired and what her dreams were. He could dream with her while she slept and enjoy the performances she thought of and actually danced. Most of all, he was glad that she accepted him and he knew it, he could freely spend time with her, not having to worry about her scent of blood overpowering him and leading to her death.

"I'm hungry" she whispered, she felt bad for ruining the moment, but she was still human.

Edward chuckled a bit. He stood up and helped her up as well. "Do you want to walk or should I carry you?" Edward asked, Andromeda looked at him confused and thought about it for a while, "I'll walk" she replied, if she walked then she would be able to practically dance around the roots than if she were carried, the stage was more open if you took the time to observe it.

He nodded and started leading her back to the car, they didn't take much time, and Andromeda didn't have a problem with the forest and actually found it fun for her daydream. Edward watched the daydream with her, smiling as she passed another obstacle, and being her leading man helping her down from higher bars.

They got to the outside of the forest and back on the trail and soon to the car. He opened the car door for her and quickly got in the driver's seat. Andromeda looked in the back for some CD's and found one. I didn't belong to her, it belonged to Crystal, she wasn't sure whether or not she should play it; Crystal always had weird taste in…everything.

"We'll see" Edward said and put the CD in, he drove out and the player started blasting out songs by the band Korn. Andromeda immediately changed it to the next song, and the next one, she stopped after a while and took the CD out, "You didn't like KoRn?" Edward asked

"They're too loud" Andromeda said, she searched the back again for another CD but all she found was an old Britney Spears album and My Chemical Romance. She didn't know much about them so she took them both and showed them to Edward, "Choose"

"This one, definitely" Edward said and took the My Chemical Romance CD and put it in the player. The song started playing, it was softer than Korn, but there was something Andromeda didn't like about it. She skipped to the next song and listened for a while, then did the same for the next one, and eventually just took the CD out, "Didn't like My Chemical Romance either?"

"Too depressing" Andromeda said, "For instance 'I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known, don't know where it goes but it's only me and I walk alone' is the most depressing lyrics I've ever heard"

Edward smiled and chuckled, "Want to try this one?" he asked and held up the Britney Spears CD, Andromeda took the CD and looked over the decoration, it had butterflies and a logo with 'Britney Spears' in cursive. She put it in and a heavy pop beat came out. Andromeda heard the song with distaste and skipped to next one, then the next one, she continued and just took the CD out overall, "Now that was horrible" Edward said and Andromeda agreed.

"Too…skanky" Andromeda said and sighed

"Do you mind if we stop by my house? I want to get my car" Edward said

"Sure, I don't mind"

Edward took a turn and swerved into another forested area. An old looking house stood and he drove the car near the garage and stopped. He stepped out and soon after she stepped out as well, she looked around and admired the house. He took his Volvo out and opened the door for her. She walked over and stepped in, she was always amazed by his CD collection he kept.

"Take a look" Edward said and drove out of the parkway

"What about my car?" Andromeda asked

"We'll come back here and get it"

Andromeda nodded and started looking through the CD's. She mentally marked the ones that looked okay and scratched out the ones that looked too loud or depressing. 'No, no, no, there's a dead dolly so that can't be good, no, no, maybe' She thought

"You sure you're going fast enough?" Edward asked sarcastically

"They're all so sad, are you sad?" Andromeda asked

Edward chuckled, "Just keep looking"

"How about this one?"

Edward turned his head and looked at it, Colbie Caillat, not one of his favorite artists, but she was good and her type of music neither loud nor depressing. So he thought it appropriate for Andromeda, "Put it in" he said

She did as she was told and the first song came out, Andromeda didn't change it. She looked out the window, and started dazing off. The song make her daydream of her and Edward, he watched the reverie as he kept driving. The song ended and Andromeda suddenly looked back at him and her face got warm as she blushed.

"Does reading minds include images?" Andromeda asked

"Yes" Edward replied honestly

'So he saw all of it?' Andromeda thought

"Yes, I did"

"That's so embarrassing!" Andromeda exclaimed and brought up her knees and covered her face with her arms.

"I liked it, it was very nice"

"Wait, how long have you been able to read minds?"

"A while"

"So when we met…you heard everything?"

"Saw everything during the class as well"

"How far do your…powers extend?"

"I can see dreams as well"

'I don't think he saw any of my dreams, but my soul just died a bit on the inside'

Edward couldn't help but laugh; she groaned and hid her face again. 'What's the whole point in thinking if he can read my thoughts?' she thought, she started retracing everything's she's ever thought before to check if any were embarrassing, but then hit her head when she realized Edward was probably listening in on the whole thing.

"No, you can continue, and then what did you think about Ned?" Edward asked, Andromeda gave up hope and tried to stop thinking overall, "That's not going to work"

"Do you always have to intrude in peoples thoughts, can't you control it?" Andromeda asked

"I wish; you should see what some of your classmates think about" Edward said

"…How's it like being a vampire?"

"Human is better"

"Why? You're immortal, powerful, beautiful-"

"A monster, we drink blood to sustain ourselves, take human lives, we're only attractive to draw in prey, that's all vampires do, kill"

Andromeda stared at him as he spat the words out; she noticed a self-loathing look in his eye, she didn't know what to say and simply turned. She imagined Edward's fangs biting into her neck and the blood oozing out from the sides, "That'll never happen" Edward said interrupting her thoughts.

He arrived at the small restaurant, and got out and opened the door for her as she got unbuckled. They entered and sat down in a booth; a waitress went to their booth and recognized Andromeda.

"Hey Annie, what can I get you today?" the waitress asked

"Um, do you have something under 500 calories, I'm trying to maintain a constant calorie count each day" Andromeda replied and the waitress sighed

"Come on, you dance almost every day of your life, there's no need to be counting calories"

"Can I at least get something with the least amount of saturated fat?"

"Fine, I'll see what we have" she turned to Edward, "And you?"

"I'm not hungry right now, thanks" Edward said

"Okay, I'll be back in a few"

Andromeda looked around the small restaurant, it's been a while since she ate out, and it had a foreign feeling. "I don't see why you count calories, it shouldn't matter" Edward said

"I don't know, I've been in diets for so long I kind of just got used to it" Andromeda said remembering Mike

"You pushed yourself too far for that idiot"

"He's not an idiot; he's very sweet, and friendly, and kind, and cute-"

"I understand" Edward said darkly

"There's no point in thinking it to myself" Andromeda said

"I honestly prefer you thinking about it than saying it"

"Why? Isn't it the same?"

"Yes and no"

The waitress arrived carrying a medium sized plate, "Here you Annie, the best I could do, salad with sliced apples and carrots, also a small piece of apple pie" The waitress said, she set down the plates and walked away shaking her head.

"She's worried about me isn't she?" Andromeda asked and Edward nodded

She began eating the carrots first, she ate each of them slowly, she had gotten so used to it that she didn't noticed. A piece of carrot fell out of her mouth when she was taking a bite and she immediately covered her mouth in shame, 'Oh God, how can I do that, he's right there, he must think I'm a pig now' she thought, she swallowed the rest and put the food down and stopped eating.

"Why did you stop eating?" Edward asked

"Um, not hungry anymore" Andromeda lied; she had forgotten that Edward already knew the real reason.

Edward called back the waitress and asked for a burger. Andromeda looked at him skeptically but he only smirked. The waitress quickly brought the burger back to the table and set it in front of Edward and left to serve the others.

"So you can eat…people food?" Andromeda asked, not sure about her choice of words

"It's for you" Edward said and pushed the burger towards her.

"Oh no, I can't eat that"

"You're going to"

"I'm not, I can't, this thing is filled with saturated fat and carbs and cholesterol, and I might have a heart attack"

Edward chuckled, "Eat it" She shook her head and pushed it away

"I can't" Andromeda whispered

"Either you eat it" Edward said and grabbed a knife, "Or I'll just have to cut myself" he positioned the knife on his wrist

"Can you get cut that easily?" Andromeda asked

"Do you want to see?" Edward challenged and pressed the knife closer

"Well, most vampires in books don't"

"Most vampires in books also don't sparkle"

"Well, maybe you guys have something in common"

"You'll find out" Edward said in a way that made her believe he was actually going to hurt himself

"Okay! I'll eat it" Andromeda looked at the burger and picked it up, she looked at it skeptically and took a bite; she fought the urge to spit it out and swallowed, "Happy?"

Edward smirked and pressed the knife hard on his skin and the knife bent, "Actually I am"

"You lied to me!" Andromeda exclaimed looking at him put aside the bent knife

"Nothing I said was a lie" Edward said smirking victoriously

Andromeda thought about what he said, he was right, she sighed in defeat and looked at the bitten off burger. She grabbed it and took another bite, "I forgot how these things tasted" she commented, she had not eaten anything over 600 calories in 3 years. By the time she got full she had only eaten half the burger, "I'm done" she said.

"Are you sure?" Edward asked

"Yeah, I get filled up easily" Andromeda said

"Alright, I have one last place to take you" Edward said

"Okay" Andromeda said she didn't bother asking where; she was fond of surprises and would not want to ruin it for herself.

Edward paid and left a tip, she felt uncomfortable leaving him to pay, but justified it by assuming it was fine since he did own a Volvo and a large CD collection, so he obviously had the money. He opened the door for her as always, she wondered why he did this, it was unnecessary, and a bit old fashioned.

He chuckled and took off from the parking lot. She started looking through his CD's for other songs. He took out a CD and put it in the player, it was classical music, one they both agreed on. She started to imagine her self dancing to the song, and Edward noticed that her feet moved slightly as she dreamt. They arrived at their destination; Andromeda looked at the building, it was where he took her during school last time, the ballet studio.

They got out of the car and he opened the front door for her, she stepped in and started looking around again, "So why'd you bring me here again?" she asked. He smirked and took off his jacket, and threw it to the side, "Might as well give me dance lessons now" he replied

She smiled and took off her sweater, leaving just her white undershirt, 'That's better' she thought. She stood on the middle of the studio and he walked over to her. He offered his hand and she took it. They started slow dancing, after a while she began to ask him some questions, he answered all of them, laughing at some. He spun her and she landed back in his arms.

"So, you can't turn into a bat, and you're not affected by garlic or crosses" Andromeda said

"Holy water doesn't do much as well" Edward added

"So how are people supposed to defend themselves?"

"They can't" Edward replied somberly

"I'm glad you told me" Andromeda said shifting subjects, "If I had figured it out myself, I probably would've told my friends and family while freaking out"

"I know" Edward said, "But I also put you at risk by revealing it"

"What do you mean? You're family won't like me?"

"It's not my family you have to worry about, it's others of our kind, we're forbidden to tell humans of our existence, and breaking that could be punishable by death"

"I won't tell anyone, I swear" Andromeda said but still felt fear. She could still barely believe Edward was an immortal, now she had to believe there was an entire race of them. She tried to take her mind off it and remembered something.

"I want to show you something, it's a ballet routine I thought of yesterday" Andromeda said

"During which class?" Edward asked

"History and English" Andromeda replied, those were the classes that Edward shared with her, "Wait" she said and ran off into the dressing rooms.

She took the uniform from her private lessons that she kept there, and went to change. She soon came out still holding the shoes to put on. She raised her foot and began to slip in the ballet shoes. Edward noticed the some spots on the bottom and side of her foot that were red and blistered. She noticed Edward looking at them, "Sometimes I overdo it" she said and started working on the other foot.

"You shouldn't if it's hurting you" Edward said

Andromeda finished putting on the last shoe and looked at him, "I want to, I enjoy it, the thing about dancing is that you have to really love it in order to achieve, it's not easy and I pity the people who think it is"

"Well honestly I have to admit that it looks pretty easy as long as you're flexible"

"Well it's not, you have to give it long hours and you're legs become constantly sore at first, and you have to work your body and maintain a healthy life style" Andromeda said and began stretching.

She stood up and walked to the middle to show him. She took a deep breath and began to dance, her movements were swift and she blended everything in almost perfectly, "How come you can dance without music?" Edward asked

She paused for a moment and smiled, "My love for dancing creates a beat strong enough to sustain any movement" she replied and continued her dance. Edward watched her with admiration, not long after she began to mouth Shakespeare again and imagine parts of the play. She thought about what if Juliet had given noble Paris a chance and married him, would the story still end in a tragedy.

She imagined Edward as Paris and Mike as Romeo. Edward crushed the polished wood of the bar; she was still thinking about him, that blonde idiot who barely knew she was alive. She stopped dancing and looked at him knowing he probably saw her image. Edward looked away and glared at the floor, he started walking wanting to get away from her thoughts of someone else.

"Edward, wait" Andromeda said, he stopped for a moment and continued. She ran over to him and took his arm, he wanted to keep walking but stopped for her sake, "I can explain"

"Why do you still think about him? He doesn't care about you and he never will!" Edward exclaimed

"But I care about him! He may not return my feelings, he may not know I exist, but I have loved him since I was a young girl, how can you expect me to forget about someone I have loved for years just because you suddenly decided to come into my life?"

She was right; his expectations for her to just leave him behind were too much. "You shouldn't pay him any attention, nevertheless love him, you can't keep something you never had"

"I know" Andromeda said and looked down.

He heard a small sob coming from her and eventually tears started falling towards the ground. He pulled her towards him and let her cry on his chest, her crying soon subsided, "I'm sorry" he whispered, she didn't reply. She simply kept resting on his chest, trying not to think about anything, and sometimes would fail.

He didn't push her away; he knew she cared for him. He did indeed become part of her heart, but his part was overshadowed by the idiot's. He had to accept it, though he loved her, she did not return his affections the way he desired, her heart was in a headlock. He wasn't angry at her at all though, his heart was in almost the same situation. Bella and Andromeda had taken equal amounts of his heart and he was in the same headlock. He loved them both with all he had left of himself. While Andromeda's love for Mike was fading away as her love for him grew, his love for both Bella and Andromeda just increased with time.

They sat down and Andromeda continued resting against him, she fiddled with his cold fingers and tried to warm them up in vain. She sighed and gave up, Edward chuckled at her efforts and put his jacket around her after she had shivered from being against him. She eventually fell asleep in his arms and began to dream. She dreamed it was just them, and nothing else, no fields, no trees, nothing, just them and everything around them was black. All he was doing was embracing her, and that's all. He pulled her sleeping form closer to him and let her dream, their dream, continue.

* * *

**Lol, i'm a softie ^^ but anyway, sorry for making edward ooc, it's hard to get him to do what i want and keep him in character, that's the hard thing about writing fan fiction with a well established fandom. **

**So as i said before, you can check out what andromeda looks like, tell me what you think and what not. And if you're actually enjoying this story then i'm very flattered. I don't expect this to be big though, most fans i know don't like the idea of edward falling for an oc.**

**So tell me what you think, about the story, chapter, ect. I welcome critiques and any type of help. I decided to make this the day that both Bella and Andromeda find out Edward's a vampire, except Edward basically hints and tells Andromeda he's a vampire (Very out of character i know) and Jacob does that for Bella, but you've already read that side of the story.**

**Thanks 4 Readin!**

**Plz Review!**


	5. Despise

**Chapter 5, i was wondering, how many of you read these things, and if you're reading this, do you prefer first person stories (were it's in a certain's character point of view) or the third person (where the reader knows everything) i prefer third person. what about you?**

**Not much to say about this chapter**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

* * *

They had already picked up her car and were already driving back to her house. Edward gave Andromeda a few CD's from his collection she had liked, she specifically like one of the artist, Imogen Heap, as her favorite. She sighed and looked out the window, she began to think about something and Edward laughed.

"Edward" Andromeda said

"Yes?" Edward asked

'Get out of my head' she thought and Edward only chuckled.

They arrived at her house and as usual Edward opened the door for her, it was actually past the time school ended and it was getting dark. "I could've taken myself so you didn't have to walk back" Andromeda said. Edward smiled and looked around, "It won't take long" he replied.

"Then I guess I'll see you later" Andromeda said and Edward nodded.

Andromeda got bold and gave him a small kiss before walking to her door, she turned and waved and stepped in. Edward smirked and left. Andromeda was greeted by one loud little sister, 2 concerned parents, and 2 more hyper friends. It was certainly a full house tonight. Mrs. Gates looked at Andromeda and motioned towards the clock.

"What took you so long?" Mrs. Gates asked

"I'm only 2 hours late, relax" Andromeda said

"Only? I was worried sick"

"It's only 2 hours; people live longer than that after being shot"

"Depends where you shoot them" Mr. Gates interrupted

"You're in trouble" Cat said in a sing song voice

"She's right, you are in trouble" Mrs. Gates said

"We can explain" Crystal said

"Well, we were going to take Annie home as usual, until major heartthrob, Edward Cullen, offered to take her himself" Shane said simply

"Oh, so he took you to school and back?" Mrs. Gates skeptically

Crystal smiled towards Andromeda, "What did you guys do?" she mouthed. "Ooh" Shane mouthed with her. Andromeda shook her head and looked at her parents again, "I'm teaching him how to dance, so since I had time, I decided to go to the ballet studio and give a lesson" she explained.

"How much is he paying you?" Mr. Gates asked

"I'm not charging, he is helping me on my singing though" Andromeda said and Mr. Gates, Crystal and Shane all snickered, "I can improve, it's not totally helpless"

"He's a brave boy" Mrs. Gates said snickering as well, "You're still in trouble, now go to your room"

"Okay" Andromeda said and quickly walked towards her room with Shane and Crystal behind trying not to run. They got to her room and all quickly entered and shut the door, "What happened!?" Crystal exclaimed excitedly

"Tell us everything! Complete details, I don't want to miss a single thing!" Shane said

"Well, at first we went to the forest, I didn't know why though" Andromeda said

"What happened in the forest?" Crystal asked

"We…" Andromeda said and tried to make something up that was exciting but not the truth, "talked, but in the end, well, there was some lip action"

"Oh my God! American or French?" Crystal asked

"French!" Andromeda replied excitedly

"I'm going to have a seizure" Shane said

"I can't believe this, okay, then what?" Crystal asked

Andromeda continued explaining her day, she left out some parts that would have to be hidden from them and made some things up to excite them up more. "I hear wedding bells!" Shane said and Andromeda laughed. "Do you think this might get serious?" Crystal asked. Andromeda wondered about it herself, she knew Edward had feelings for Bella, so would that stop him from having a relationship with her?

"I don't know, it's really confusing" Andromeda said

"How?" Shane asked

Andromeda thought it over; she guessed it would be safe to tell them, "Well, Edward likes Bella too"

"What?!" they both exclaimed

"Yeah, I mean, isn't it obvious?"

"Well, I thought it was just a rumor" Crystal said

"Rumor?" Andromeda asked

"Yeah, there was a rumor that Edward Cullen had his hands all over Bella Swan during the blood test in biology"

Andromeda felt as if something had slapped her across the face, and then she felt jealousy, anger and hurt. Shane and Crystal noticed this, it was the same look she had when Jessica had tried to befriend her but then made her boyfriend break up with her and go out with Jessica instead, "It could still be just a rumor" Crystal consoled.

"It's fine, that bastard can do whatever the hell he wants!" Andromeda exclaimed and buried her face in the pillows, "I'm not stopping"

"You should really stop this suicide act" Shane said and took away the pillows, "On the good side, we're going shopping tomorrow for the dance"

"Oh yeah, that's good, and on the bad side again, you have a lot of make up work to do for school" Crystal said

"Great, are there any more good sides?" Andromeda asked

"Yeah, I managed to get the teachers to postpone the singing auditions till next Wednesday, I call that good"

"I don't want to try out for singing!" Andromeda whined and Crystal hit her with a pillow, "I'm going to put these CD's away" Andromeda took the discs and put them in her drawer, Crystal took them out and faked gagged when she saw them, she put them back in and walked back.

Shane started explaining what they had to wear for the dance, and how they were going to do their hair and what not. Shane and Crystal decided since it was a Friday they were going to stay over. They called their parents on their cell phones, since both their parents knew Andromeda well; they let them stay without much argument.

Andromeda took out her books and tried to catch up on school while Shane and Crystal used her computer to look at dresses and suits and occasionally check the profiles of other students on the social network website, Myspace. They laughed at some of the stuff people put on their profiles and eventually Andromeda was looking and laughing with them.

"Come on, why don't we make these books useful?" Crystal suggested

"How? They're boring and heavy" Shane said

"Well, we could play a game with them"

"Fine, just don't break them, which would cost me money" Andromeda said

"You worry too much you know that?" Crystal said

Edward watched them from a tree across her window. They started tossing the books around and if someone dropped one of them, they would have to get one book and try to catch the others still carrying the one book. Another book was added every time you dropped one. Crystal threw it at Andromeda, the book hit her chest but she managed to catch it, she held her chest while laughing, and Crystal and Shane laughed as well.

They stopped playing after they tore a part of a page out from the biology book; they quickly put the page back in and pretended it didn't happen. Edward chuckled a bit. Crystal took out a CD and started playing a song, Andromeda quickly raced towards the radio to change it but Crystal stopped her. While Crystal was holding back Andromeda, Shane managed to put his own disc in. The girls started yelling at Shane and he covered the CD player to keep them from changing it.

Andromeda and Crystal laughed as they tried to get him off the player; Andromeda started singing as loudly as she could along with the song. Shane put his hand over her mouth and Crystal took out his CD and put her own in again. And the playful fighting began again.

Edward looked at Andromeda the whole time, she seemed to be very happy. She laughed and danced with her friends. She was only thinking about the dance, school work, and other insignificant things, but he liked it that way. He tried to block out her thoughts to give her some privacy and just watch her enjoy herself. Mrs. Gates entered the room announcing they had snacks downstairs. Shane and Crystal quickly went downstairs; Shane raced to get some food before Crystal ate it all. Andromeda smiled and looked over and seemed to have spotted him.

She walked to her window and opened it, Edward quickly arrived just outside her window and faced her. "You know, the whole watching from afar thing isn't a big turn on for girls" Andromeda said. Edward chuckled, "I'll remember that" he replied.

"I can help you with your studies tomorrow" Edward offered

"Okay, that'll be fine, but it's too late for the biology book" Andromeda said, "So are you on your way to visit Bella?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you going to visit her? Didn't I make that clear?"

"You sure got in a bad mood quickly" Edward said smirking

"I just wondered since apparently you were all over her for the biology blood test"

"She was feeling sick; I was taking her to the nurse"

"You're such a gentleman, because carrying her was completely necessary"

"You should be thanking me; Mike Newton was going to take her"

"She doesn't like him, so it doesn't matter if he helps her walk"

"So I'm still the bad guy?"

"Yes, if you had let Mike take her to the nurse, then she would've gone to the nurse and she wouldn't have been all over you"

"So you're jealous?"

"I'm not jealous, I'm practical"

"In jealous way?"  
Andromeda was left speechless, "You know just…take a hike"

"You think I'm not jealous? The way you think about the idiot doesn't make me upset?"

"Then I guess it's an eye for an eye"

Edward leaned in and kissed her, she instinctively kissed him back through the window. Edward mentally smiled as she thought of the balcony scene between Romeo and Juliet, one of the most romantic scenes in all of literature. He continued kissing her and soon pulled away; she looked away and blushed a bit. Edward smiled and left as soon as he heard steps going up stairs.

Andromeda snapped back into reality and closed the window. Her friends came in with Crystal still stuffing her face, she noticed three small cases in front of the window on Andromeda's desk. She took them and saw her name on one of them. "Hey, I got a present" Crystal said and opened it, it revealed a CD, Crystal gasped and squealed excitedly.

"What?" Shane and Andromeda asked

"I got the Thousand Foot Krutch album!" Crystal reported happily

"Let me see those" Shane said and took the case with his name, he opened it and gasped, "It's Gwen Stefani!"

Andromeda took the last one which had her name on it, she opened it and looked at it curiously, "Jason Mraz, featuring Colbie Caillat and hit single I'm Yours" she read.

"Who left these here?" Crystal asked

"Edward" Andromeda whispered, 'I can't believe him, he's trying to get on my friends good side too'

"Edward? He left this?" Crystal asked

"He must be trying to get our approval, he does like our Annie" Shane suggested

"Well, he has been Crystal approved" Crystal said and started playing the CD.

"Oh God, stop the heathen music!" Shane said and tried to stop the music.

'Hm, I never heard a Jason Mraz' Andromeda thought

They started talking about who was going with who to the dance and who was available. Apparently, Bella and Tyler were going to prom together, since Bella couldn't make it to the dance. Andromeda thought maybe she could go to the prom with Edward since Bella was going with Tyler and Mike with Jessica. Lauren could go with Eric, but then again, he acted too nerdy for her taste. Crystal had her eyes on a boy who was just as weird as her, but even though it was girls choice, she refused to ask him out, in her opinion, girls are supposed to accept, not ask, otherwise why do they waste their time fixing themselves to look beautiful.

After a while they went to sleep, Andromeda was still up looking at the ceiling. She had been thinking about the dance, if this guy asked Crystal, then it would just be her and Shane, she guessed they could pass as a couple, and knowing him, he wouldn't mind as long as she didn't wear anything not approved by him. She eventually fell asleep as well.

They all woke up and Crystal and Shane went to their houses to change. Andromeda went downstairs and started eating some cereal. "Annie, I made pancakes and bacon, why are you eating that cereal?" Mrs. Gates asked. Andromeda took the box and showed it to her, "It's Special K, it doesn't have a lot of calories and it still taste good" Andromeda said.

"Annie, you're not fat, will you please stop counting calories before you get too skinny?" Mrs. Gates asked

"I know I'm not fat, I want to keep it that way" Andromeda said

"I hope you know what you're doing to yourself" Mrs. Gates said and started cleaning after Cat. Andromeda finished her breakfast and called her Shane and Crystal, they agreed to meet up at Shane's house and from there, Port Angeles. She arrived at Shane's house, and Crystal was already there, greeting his parents.

"Hey Mr. and Mrs. Palatto" Andromeda greeted

"Hello Annie, you guys have a good time" Mrs. Palatto said

"Thanks, we will" Crystal said

"Bye!" They all said, they got in Shane's car and started driving off to Port Angeles.

The drive there was excruciating for Crystal and sometimes for Andromeda. All Shane's car had was songs like Thousand Miles, Public Affair, Stars Are Blind, Sweet Escape, and ect. Which were all hated by Crystal and some by Andromeda. Andromeda sang along with the songs she didn't like so he would change them, and Crystal just plainly tried to destroy the music. Thankfully they arrived and got out.

They entered a store and looked around for some dresses. Shane grabbed an armful and dresses and took Andromeda and Crystal to try them out. "I don't like it" Andromeda said wearing the first dress; it was a pink dress with a halter top and a slit down the side.

"You're right, it makes you look like a midnight hooker" Shane said and threw Andromeda another dress, "Now you" Crystal came out wearing a purple dress with a built in black corset, "No; it makes you look like a devil child"

"Okay, I still don't like it" Andromeda said, this time she was wearing a baby blue sleeveless dress which was tight around the breast area and everything else was loose

"I think you look good" Crystal said

"There's something wrong with it" Shane said

"Like, I don't know, it makes me look like a pregnant cow?" Andromeda asked sarcastically

"Yeah, I think that's it" Shane said, "Try this one" Shane turned to look at Crystal's new dress, "I love it"

"Oh no, I'm not wearing this" Crystal said, the dress was pink and violet, the bottom had multiple layers that creating a spinning effect as if she were twirling all the time, there were jewels on the top half decorating the front of the dress, "I'll kill myself before the night is over"

"You look amazing in it, only you can pull off this dress" Shane said and Crystal sighed, "Okay, then this one"

Andromeda came out, she adjusted the dress a bit, it was a sleeveless but it had like a strange green color, it had a different fabric around the breast, with barely noticeable glitter and a small string of fake diamonds down the middle of the front. It got was a comfortable fit on the upper body and loose on the bottom, "You look like a Mexican avocado" Crystal said

"No, she does not, she looks great, this is the dress" Shane said

"Avocados from Mexico, get them right here" Crystal teased and Shane put his hand over her mouth

"You look great Annie, we could use a lighter color though" Shane said

They continued trying on dresses, extravagant ones and more casual ones. Andromeda spotted Bella with Jessica and Angela. Bella was simply staring off not really paying attention, but Angela and Jessica were in the whole shopping thing. Shane and Crystal saw them as well and started talking.

"Wow, Angela looks scary skinny in that dress" Crystal said and took a sip of her Dr. Pepper she sneaked in

"I know, Jessica should just burn the gloves, they're hideous" Shane said

"She should burn her hairstyle with it too" Crystal added

"Oh my gosh, Bella's outfit is driving me crazy, I'm like this close to just blowing it off the face of the planet"

"I know, I hate fashion and I think that shirt and those pants were not meant to be worn at the same time"

"Angela should get contacts, they work for me" Andromeda said

"Oh yeah, you don't have to wear those nerdy glasses anymore" Crystal said and laughed remembering how they look, "You looked so bug-eyed in them"

"Well I don't wear them anymore" Andromeda said

"I found it!" Shane said, it was the same dress Andromeda wore in a lime color. Crystal put on a silver glitter dress, it was a halter with a slit down the left, "Buy it" Shane and Andromeda said, Crystal looked at herself skeptically and started sucking a lollipop she snuck in along with her Dr. Pepper.

They continued to look at dresses, Andromeda looked back at Angela, Jessica and Bella, but found Bella wasn't there. "Yeah, I'd run away too if I was caught wearing her outfit" Shane said noticing Bella was gone too. "Maybe she was hungry" Crystal said, "I am"

"You always are" Andromeda said and laughed when Crystal threw the finished sucker at her. Andromeda checked her watch, she had to go to work soon, and luckily she worked nearby. Crystal noticed her looking at the time and sighed.

"Why do you have to work on weekends?" Crystal asked, "And as a waitress?"

"It's the only decent paying job that's not on the weekdays" Andromeda replied, 'Except the store Mike's parents own'

"You should just quit, you're parents are paying for ballet lessons anyway" Shane said

"Yeah, I'm surprised they haven't talked to me about missing class on Thursday" Andromeda said

"Well, it's not like you do anything in that class, you just help out beginners" Crystal said

"Yeah, they give me minimum wage for that"

"So you're parents only pay up for the Monday class?" Shane asked

"Yeah, only the private lessons, the rest I actually earn money, not a lot though"

"When do you have to go?" Crystal asked

"Um…now" Andromeda said, they walked to the register and bought the dresses, they all put their dress in Shane's car. They stepped into the restaurant, Andromeda to work and her friends to eat. She quickly got dressed in an appropriate uniform and got to the back.

It was already dark and Andromeda sighed, 'Day sure went fast' she thought, she walked towards the dining area and saw Angela and Jessica just leaving the restaurant. She went over to Shane and Crystal who were sitting in a booth not in her serving area. "Was that Jessica and Angela?" Andromeda asked, they nodded.

"Lucky they left huh?" Shane said, "Hideous uniform"

"They were in your serving area too" Crystal said

"Oh, I gotta go" Andromeda said, she went over to her serving area and took the order of a couple. She went to the back to get them the drinks and turn in the order. She was holding two cups of Diet Coke walking back to the couple when she spotted them, Edward and Bella, in her serving area. She almost dropped the glasses in surprise and quickly went back to the kitchen.

"Sharon!" Andromeda exclaimed, Sharon walked over looking bored, "I need you to switch areas with me"

"Why?" Sharon asked

"These kids from my school I really don't like are here" Andromeda lied, "Come here" she showed them Edward and Bella's table and Sharon smiled.

"He's hot, sure I'll take it" Sharon said

"First order of business, take these drinks to the couple over there, then serve that table, then you can serve the hot boy table"

"Alright, here, that table 19 needs their food and the table behind it needs drinks" Sharon informed

They switched areas, and now Andromeda had to serve Shane and Crystal. She handed table 19 their food and the table behind it, their drinks. She went to Shane and Crystal to take their order.

"What's up my bitch?" Crystal said laughing that Andromeda had to serve them now

"Just don't over do it" Andromeda said

"I'll have the mushroom ravioli" Shane said, "And make it snappy"

Crystal laughed and Andromeda hit his shoulder, "I'll have the strawberry apple pie" Crystal said and laughed

"The what? We don't sell that here, and it's totally wrong" Andromeda said trying to stay serious but couldn't help laughing.

"Okay, serious, I just want some spaghetti" Crystal ordered

"And I'll be right back" Andromeda said

Andromeda walked back to the kitchen and placed the order. She looked at Edward and Bella, 'You're a real prick you know that?' she thought. Edward heard her, he saw Bella had finished her drink and pushed his toward her. Bella shivered, and Edward shook off his jacket and gave it to her.

"No luck, the guy won't even look at me" Sharon said coming in to place the order.

Edward glanced at Andromeda with eyes pleading for forgiveness. Andromeda shook her head and looked away. Sharon noticed this and smiled, "Oh" she said as if figuring out a murder mystery, "So how'd you do it?"

"Do what?" Andromeda asked

"It's obvious, even though he has a girlfriend, you're seeing him" Sharon said

"Seeing him? Like…?"

"Yes, having an affair, look it up"

"She's not his girlfriend and we're not having an affair"

"Oh, still not in that stage yet, I see, soon enough though right?"

"No! He won't cheat on her; I won't cheat on her, and…forget it!"

"So you're a virgin having an affair, that doesn't go well"

"I have a table to serve, excuse me" Andromeda said putting off the last comment, she took the food for the table 20 and her friend's table.

She set the food down on the table and served her friends as well, "Tell me I'm dreaming, but isn't that Edward Cullen and Bella Swan?" Shane asked. Andromeda nodded, she didn't bother turning around, "Do you need a hug?" Crystal asked, Andromeda smiled and shook her head.

"You guys want anything else?" Andromeda asked

"Yeah, to tell us if you're really okay with this" Crystal said

"I'm fine, my shift will end anytime now, so no worries" Andromeda said and walked off, 'That stupid, blood-sucking, sonuvabitch! I hope vampires go to hell, because I would love to know he's burning! Hell would do him a favor, burning is ten times better than sparkling, it kills!'

Edward listened to her thought and mentally grimaced, he felt undeniable guilt surge through his being. "I need to go somewhere" Edward said to Bella

"Why?"

"I have to do something, I'll be right back"

"Okay" Bella said, she wanted to ask why but didn't, he seemed angered and upset. She looked down and continued to eat her meal, which was actually quite good.

Edward pulled Andromeda into a hall in the restaurant, "Don't touch me!" Andromeda whispered harshly and pulled away her hand, she imagined Romeo dead on the floor of the Capulet tomb. "Nothing's happened, I just saved Bella from getting beaten and raped, do you want me to feel guilty for that!?" Edward whispered back

Andromeda didn't know what to say, "You didn't have to take her out to eat!"

"And let her starve, in case you didn't know, those girls already had their meals while Bella was about to be assaulted"

"Are you her personal guardian now!? Can't she protect herself?"

"Things like that happen, what if it was you and Bella didn't want me to save you and just let those men have their way!"

"At least I'm smart enough to know not to walk around alone at night!"

"She was trying to find her way back to the rest"

"She shouldn't have left them"

"This is getting ridiculous, you shouldn't be angry and I shouldn't be guilty"

"You're guilty? Well I'm glad!"

Edward suddenly kissed her, she tried pushing him away immediately but couldn't, she didn't have to strength to. She finally pushed him away, and shook her head in guilt. Edward was taking Bella to dinner, Bella, the girl who loved him and he loved her, the girl who trusted him, and Andromeda had just taken part in betraying that.

"I have tables to serve, get back to your date" Andromeda whispered and walked back to her serving area.

Edward couldn't believe himself; he couldn't believe he had the audacity to do that. He felt like a demon was gnawing at his entire being. He knew he was doing wrong, even though he and Bella were not an official couple. She trusted him; she cared for him despite his efforts not to. Edward couldn't read her thoughts, but was aware that to her, he was everything. Edward sighed and walked back to the table with Bella.

-

Andromeda was back at her house staring at the dress she had bought today. She showed her parents the dress, her mom liked it, her dad was concerned it was showing too much skin. Cat sat on Andromeda's bed playing with her stuffed animals. Andromeda didn't mind having Cat there, especially when no one was over.

Andromeda took out her books and began to try to make up some of the work she missed; she ended up performing some ballet for Cat and her small guest. "That's enough, come on Cat, off to bed" Mrs. Gates said walking in, "Annie, finish you're homework"

"Okay" Andromeda said, not really listening, she continued to day dream while dancing and soon felt a cold hand on hers.

"Edward, get out" Andromeda said

"I'm not here to do anything, I just want to help you study" Edward said

"…Fine" Andromeda said, she knelt down to her books and took out the papers.

Edward chuckled at the simple tasks and started helping her work on it. She didn't understand half those things and just gave up after 30 minutes. He explained the work to her but she simply dazed off. He sighed and looked at the papers.

"Okay, I'll continue" Andromeda said feeling him lose hope as well

After 4 hours, they finally finished, and Edward had even helped her improve her singing on that while. She quickly fell asleep on the floor after they finished, she dreamed about Edward and Bella, they were together while Andromeda watched from the background. She turned and Edward felt guilt at her dream. He picked her up and set her on the bed.

He watched her sleep for a while, not focusing on the dream, he leaned over and kissed her forehead. He wanted to tell her what she meant to him, but decided not to. It would be best if he just simply left. He stood up and walked towards the window. He turned back, "I'm sorry" he whispered, he couldn't apologize enough, not when he was doing such an unforgivable act, and to make it worse, he wasn't even a human. Despising himself, he left, with his sin unrightfully purged upon her lips.

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**That's all for now, Initially i had wanted to make Andromeda serving the table, but i later on decided i didn't really like the idea. **

**So tell me what you thought, feel free to give me some critiques and what not.**

**Question: Do you prefer first person style or third person? (First person is with a characters point of view, ex. Twilight. Third person does not have a point of view, and can freely follow any character it wants, ex. Harry Potter)**

**Thanks 4 Readin!**

**Plz Review!**

**Thanks 4 read**


	6. Fair

**Ooh, another chapter, what mysteries will be discovered today? Lol, just kidding, jk, i did discover something in this chapter though, and you'll see it too**

**I do not own twilight, if i did...i don't know what i'd do if i did, make a lot of money i guess O.o**

* * *

She awoke the next day, and got dressed and had breakfast. She went to the movie theatres with Shane and Crystal and they went to a restaurant later on. The day ended and the new school week began. She ignored Edward that Monday, and then that Tuesday, and the following day, and the following day. She was trying to keep him out of her life, and drive herself back to normality. She would admit, looking at him during lunch and often caught him looking back.

It soon became clear to the school that Bella and Edward had become a 'thing' or a couple. They had almost every class together and had become inseparable, he kept two of his classes unchanged, History and Language Arts. Everyday, Andromeda had to deal with his presence, but out of respect, he left her be.

"Did you notice Bella's sitting with the Cullens now?" Shane asked during lunch one school day

"Yeah, it turns out Bella and Tyler aren't going to prom together" Crystal said

"Really?" Andromeda asked

"Yeah, Bella is available for Edward now, he made that very clear to Tyler" Crystal said

"Ooh, sounds like a fight happened" Shane said

"Totally anti-climactic though, no one was hit or bleeding, big disappointment" Crystal said and took a bite out of a bagel.

"Is Mike okay with this?" Andromeda asked

"Yeah, he's going out with Jessica now"

"Oh, good for him"

Crystal and Shane noticed the disappointment on her face, "Annie, you can't still be upset over that" Crystal said

"I honestly thought you'd be more upset that it didn't work between you and Edward" Shane said

"Oh well, now you're available to all the guys in the school, their loss right, Edward wasn't all that great anyway, and Mike's just a loser" Crystal said

"Yeah, you're right, nothing special at all" Andromeda said

The bell rung and every one stood up to go to class, they threw away their leftovers and talked to friends on the way, "Oh yeah, I have something to tell you guys" Crystal said

"What?" Shane and Andromeda said walking to their classes

"Ryan asked me out!" Crystal said excitedly

"Oh my God! Two freaks going to the dance together, it breaks my heart" Shane said and Crystal hit him

"So, was it the shy asking or the hey baby asking?" Andromeda asked

"At first, he tried the hey baby ask, but when I didn't look interested, he got all sweet and shy" Crystal informed

"That's so cute! I'm a sucker for that"

"I think almost every girl is a sucker for that!"

"Well it's irresistible to watch a tough guy reveal his sensitive side"

"Wow, and here I thought you liked wussies"

"What wussie have I ever liked?"

"What wussie haven't you liked?" Shane asked and Crystal laughed

"Yeah, remember Shandon?" Crystal asked

"My first boyfriend, yes, he wasn't a wussie" Andromeda said

"Please, the guy cried after seeing the Notebook for the first time" Crystal said

"I'm gay and I haven't done that yet" Shane said

"Okay, but that's it" Andromeda said

"Yeah…remember Ned?"

"Ned wasn't a wussie!"

"Sweetie, he was" Crystal said and got to her classroom, "See you bitches later"

"I gotta go too, my class room's right here" Shane said

Andromeda sighed and went to her class as well; she looked out the window and started daydreaming about a ballet performance. The teacher scowled at her again and she quickly wrote down some notes. The period finally ended and now she would have to face another period with him.

Andromeda walked in to her history class, which was very close to her previous period. She saw him already sitting on his desk and took hers. Like always, they didn't bother each other, the teacher came in with a stack of papers and started passing them around, "Alright, I want you guys to form groups, because today, we have a project, due at the end of the class" the students quickly went to their nearest friend and settled in a circle.

Edward was excluded from everything; the students had a hard time trusting him and feared him. The teacher sighed and saw Andromeda asking around to join groups, "Ms. Gates, why don't you join Mr. Cullen over there, make your own little group? And plus with your grades right now, you need the highest scoring student in the class"

Andromeda looked at Edward, "Do I have to?" she asked. Mr. Evans looked at her skeptically and at Edward, "Is there a problem with Mr. Cullen?" he asked

"Well no-"

"Then get to work"

"Okay" Andromeda said and walked over to Edward, she took one of the seats and sat in front of Edward. Edward didn't say anything, he barely looked at her. 'I'm happy for you and Bella' she thought. Edward looked at her and nodded, "Thank you" he mouthed.

They looked over the assignment, it was a simple one. All the students were talking mostly instead of working. Andromeda got to work and opened her book. "I didn't get the singing part, so I'm just a background dancer" she said, trying to start up small talk.

"That's unfortunate, I'm sure you would've done well as the lead role" Edward said going along with it, "Thank you" she replied barely audible. Edward did some of the work quickly, but mostly focused on her. He wanted to speak to her, but didn't knowing she wanted to get back to her regular life without his interference. Sometimes she would meet his gaze but immediately looked away. "That's wrong" Edward said looking at her part. She handed him the paper and he corrected it.

'This feels very awkward' Andromeda thought

"It'll end soon" Edward replied

'I was thinking, not talking to you' Andromeda thought trying to sound angered

"Sounds the same honestly" Edward said and smiled

'So Bella knows what you are?' Andromeda asked through her thoughts, he nodded, 'she found out?' he nodded again.

He finished what she had left and turned it in to the teacher early, "Did you let Ms. Gates do some of the work?" Mr. Evans asked

"Yes, we split it to get it done faster" Edward replied, Mr. Evans believed him and motioned him to sit down again.

"I'll move the chair back" Andromeda said and was about to stand up until Edward stopped her.

"Class isn't over yet, you don't have to" Edward said, Andromeda sighed and sat back down

"I'm very uncomfortable now" Andromeda said

"I'm not doing anything" Edward said, Andromeda looked away for a while.

"Why Bella?" Andromeda suddenly asked

"What?" Edward asked as well having been taken off guard

"Why did you decide to go out with Bella? I wasn't good enough or something?"

"It was far from that"

"Then what? Because first you take me out for a day, kiss more times than I can count and tell me…" Andromeda fell silent, "Do you regret doing all those things with me?"

Edward looked at her with soft eyes, "No, I would do them all over again if given the opportunity"

"Oh well, you have a girlfriend now" Andromeda said and the bell rung, "Have a nice day"

Edward watched her leave, and put her seat back in its place. He went out and saw her walking towards gym. He wondered if she forgot he and Bella had the same class now and he was going to the exact same place. He caught up with her, "I'll walk with you" he said quickly. 'Right' she thought, 'he has the same class'

They got to the gymnasium and split ways when they got to the lockers. Andromeda dressed herself and looked over at Bella. Bella was a good girlfriend and a good person, Andromeda felt guilty for still having feelings for Edward, she felt as if she herself were cheating on Bella. They went in the gym and today they had to play racquetball. Bella as usual was being attacked by the balls and constantly tripping, at one point she hit herself trying to serve the birdie. Andromeda giggled at the sight, she tried to stop but the sight of Bella's clumsiness was too much for her to hold in.

Edward sometimes chuckled at Bella and would sneak peeks of Andromeda. Andromeda had no problem serving the birdie, it was returning it, she would usually go off in a daydream by the time the other team managed to hit it towards her. The birdie hit her eye which caused her to suddenly flinch and accidentally loose grip of her racket which dropped to the floor which caused Bella to trip over from leaning to see if she was okay. Bella blushed as the snickering began, Andromeda giggled and picked up her racket, "I'm sorry" Andromeda said and smiled. "It's okay" Bella replied.

They continued to play until the coaches called them in to change. Andromeda changed quickly and got out a small book, Romeo and Juliet. She read the prologue over and over, it was one of her favorite sonnets in Romeo and Juliet, her favorite being the conversation between Romeo and Juliet themselves. The bell rang and Andromeda quickly left, she saw Bella walk over to Edward and take his hand. Andromeda looked away, feeling as if she were just cruelly beaten by a mob. Edward managed to look at her while she walked away, he missed her, and though he saw her everyday she did not speak to him, or glance at him. He missed spending time with her.

"Hey Annie" Shane said

"Where's Crystal?" Andromeda asked noticing the girl's absence.

"Unfortunately we were dumped, she went with Ryan today" Shane replied

"Oh, so are you coming over?"

"Of course, we're just going to have to have a better time without her, that'll teach the bitch"

Andromeda laughed, "Okay, but I don't know what to do"

"I know what we can do, hell I know everything"

Shane and Andromeda went to her house, this time he played Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton in his radio. Instead of stopping her like he usually does when she sings along, he decided to sing along with her and they both sang loudly together sounding like a chorus of a thousand dying animals.

They got to her house and were greeted by Cat holding out a cookie, "Mommy made snacks" Cat said and went back to the kitchen.

"Ooh, snacks, I like snacks" Shane said and followed Cat

"Where's Crystal?" Mrs. Gates asked

"She ditched us for her boyfriend" Andromeda said

"Oh, Crystal has a boyfriend now? That's nice"

"I know, now you guys can have snacks left over in the evening" Shane said and Cat laughed.

"Mommy, why do couples want to be alone?" Cat asked

"To exchange phone numbers" Mrs. Gates replied

"And play tonsil hockey" Shane added and received a slap on the arm by Andromeda, "What?"

"She's my little sister" Andromeda said, "You can ruin her mind when she's ten"

"I'm counting the minutes"

"Come on" Andromeda said

They went to her room and Shane immediately pulled out all the clothes in her closet, they decided to put off tomorrows homework for another day. She tried on his outfit combinations and modeled them across the room. Shane laughed every time she made a show of her walks and did a turn. They did small fashion shows with the announcer played by Shane, and eventually it was dark.

"I gotta go, I'll call you when Crystal picks up the phone" Shane said and hugged Andromeda

"Sure, good luck" Andromeda said

"I'll need it; it's going to be hard keeping that girl's tongue in her mouth"

Andromeda laughed and walked him to the door and waved him off. She went back to her room and looked at her bag, 'I could do my homework' she thought. Her thoughts drifted and she found herself dancing and humming an unfamiliar tune she made up. She suddenly felt someone grab her hands and they started a different dance.

"Edward, what are you doing here?" Andromeda asked, "You should leave"

"I just came by to visit you, there's no harm in that" Edward replied

"…I guess not, but I don't want you here"

"Why? You never stopped me before"

"You never had a girlfriend before"

"Nothing's going to happen"

"I know"

They stayed silent for a while but continued dancing, "You've gotten a lot better by yourself" Andromeda remarked, he purposely made a mistake and she chuckled and told him how to fix it. They stopped but didn't separate

"It hurts" Edward whispered

"What does?" Andromeda asked

"Seeing you everyday upset at me"

"There's nothing I can do about that"

"Forgive me"

"You have nothing to be sorry for, you made your choice, Bella, and I'll admit, it was a good one"

"I didn't know I had to choose"  
"Well you can't have us both"

"I guess not"

"But, I'm glad you chose Bella, she really cares about you and you really care about her"

"I also care about you"

"…Well, you should get over it"

"I can't, trust me I've tried, but I can't get you off my mind, I keep thinking about you everywhere I go, I keep seeing you everywhere I look, even when Bella's next to me I still want your scent close to me, because that means you're near, Andromeda I can't stop caring about you no matter how hard I try because I love you"

Andromeda looked down, that was the first time she heard him say it, that he loved her, and he said it at the most inconvenient of times, when he was already in another relationship, "You can't, I mean, it's not…we barely know each other!"

"You can ask me whatever you want" Edward said

"Um…what's your favorite color?" Andromeda asked

Edward chuckled, "I don't really have one"

"What year were you born?"

"1901"

"That was unexpected, so how old that does that make you?"

"110…maybe"

"Did life ever get boring?"

"Sometimes, World War II was depressing yet entertaining at the same time"

"So that's how you an A on the test!"

Edward laughed, "You certainly are something else"

"Does Bella know you're that old?"

"Yes"

"Okay…how did you become a vampire?"

Edward got serious, "I was dying and Carlisle saved me"

Andromeda saw his discomfort in the subject, "You don't have to say anymore"

Edward leaned in and placed his lips against hers. They stayed that way for a while, forgetting about the outside world, ignoring their conscious, and betraying the common sense of morality, and Bella. That was the first time they sinned together, a sin driven by human emotion for something you lust after but can never receive. Andromeda pulled away and bowed her head in shame.

'What did I do?' Andromeda kept asking herself over and over.

Edward stared away for a while, in disbelief that he was obeying his darker half, "If I'm going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly" he said and pulled Andromeda into another kiss. She didn't resist, she felt herself become a bad person, a person she never wanted to be. She separated from him.

"This probably means I'm going to hell as well, doesn't it?" Andromeda asked

"No, everyone's allowed one sin"

He pulled her back into the kiss and deepened it. They knew it was too late to stop it, one could call it many names, cheating, betrayal, unfaithful, but they had formed what in truth, is called, an affair. Certainly the person who made this word was not feeling well because to put the word fair in affair was quite the ill mistake.

They parted and Andromeda stepped back, "Please leave" she whispered. Edward complied, he kissed her forehead and left. She fell on her bed and looked at the ceiling, 'What kind of person am I? I wonder if this makes me a terrible one' she thought. She indeed did feel like a terrible person, the guilt crawled on her skin and penetrated through to her heart, she felt horrible. Horrible enough that she soon rose to her feet and ran into the bathroom to throw up, she was consumed by guilt.

She cleaned herself up and walked back to her bed and buried herself in the pillows, there she cried. She wanted to blame Edward, just simply blame him completely, but Andromeda knew that she too was to blame for not being strong enough to stop it. She continued crying, any sounds muffled by the pillows, at that moment, she decided that guilt was not an emotion, it was far too strong to be considered one; it was a demon.

After a while she calmed down, she picked up the phone, ignoring the time and dialed Crystal's number. Crystal didn't pick up the first time, so Andromeda tried again. Crystal picked up, _"Hello?"_ she asked sleepily.

"Hey, it's me" Andromeda said

"_Annie? What's up? Why are you calling so late?"_

"I just need to talk to you"

"_Sure, about what?"_

"I did something bad"

"_What? You sound horrible; did you shoot the president or something?"_

"Something, Edward was here and…"

"_Oh my gosh, Annie did you sleep with him?" _Crystal asked concerned

"No, I just kissed him"

"_Wow, isn't Bella his girlfriend?"_

"Yeah, you would know"

"_Maybe they broke up, you never know"_

"I'm sure they didn't"

"_Annie this is bad, I've seen this in movies, get out of this now"_

"How!?"

"_Don't talk to him, at all, ignore completely, what happened? Did he say anything about Bella?"_

"He said he loved me"

"_Like, said it? Like he really said, 'I love you'?"_

"Is that bad?"

"_I gotta call Shane"_

There was some dialing and ringing, luckily, Shane was a light sleeper. _"Ladies?" _Shane asked noticing it was a three way.

"_We got a crisis in our hands" _Crystal said

"_Oh, what kind?" _Shane asked

"_Edward cheating on Bella with Annie"_

"You didn't have to say it so sudden!" Andromeda exclaimed

"_Annie, is this true?" _Shane asked

"Yes" Andromeda replied weakly

"_Oh, get out of this now, nothing good can come from it"_

"I don't know how"

"_You're going to have to be strong"_

"But Shane, he said he loved me"

"_He really said it? Like, he said 'I love you'?"_

"Yes"

"_Was it just flat out or some type of confession?"_

"Confession"

"_This sounds so cool and bad" _Crystal remarked and ate some popcorn she made while on the phone.

Edward arrived at her window again, "I have to go" Andromeda said

"_Break it up!" _Shane said before Andromeda hung up

"So you told them?" Edward asked, "It was only tonight"

"Why are you back here?" Andromeda asked

"I thought you were asleep by now, I like to watch your dreams"

"Can't you stay out of my head for a day?"

"I did, for many days, except during school"

"Edward, stop coming here, stop talking to me, change your classes, don't look at me, and don't think about me"

"Is that what you want?"

"Yes" Andromeda said, "No, maybe, I don't know!" Andromeda pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around her legs. She felt arms embrace her from behind; Edward pushed the hair out of face and kissed her cheek. He pressed his lips against her neck and then the back of her ear, "Stop" she ordered

"Alright" Edward said and rested his head on her hair, "I feel horrible as well"

"Then let's stop, let's just make this a one night thing and never do it again"

"The thing is, I don't want to stop seeing you, the guilt for betraying Bella may be killing me, but being without you stabs a deeper wound"

Andromeda chuckled, "No body speaks like that anymore"

"Forgive me and my incompetence with your new age slang"

Andromeda smiled and faced him, "I didn't understand half the words you said, but I forgive you"

They quickly kissed and Andromeda rested herself against him. She knew she wasn't taking heed of her friend's advice, but found herself too weak to do so, for something happened, and it had terrible timing, she fell in love.

They lied down on her bed; he hummed something to her while she snuggled against his hard chest. She closed her eyes and soon fell asleep. She dreamt she was dancing in a stage, and Edward's humming was her music. He smiled and continued to hum to her and closed his own eyes. He would have to leave for Bella when sunrise came around, he stayed with Bella in her sleep, even though he could not see her dreams, he enjoyed her words.

He looked at the time, it would be sunrise soon, and he had to leave. He stopped humming and something in her dream changed. She stopped dancing; Edward rose from the front row and walked towards Bella who was waiting for him in the main entrance. Edward and Bella shared a kiss in front of her and she turned away. 'Goodbye Edward' her dream self said and let a tear escape, she bowed and exited the stage. Her mind turned black, as if the play was over.

Edward left for Bella, thinking about Andromeda's unspoken words, goodbye. He continued seeing the image over and over in his head and soon arrived in Bella's room. Bella stirred in her sleep and woke to Edward in a rocking chair near her. "Edward, you're here" Bella said and smiled.

Edward smiled and walked towards her and sat on her bed, "I'll always be here, I'm never leaving you" Edward said. He wanted to say those words to Andromeda, but they meant just as much to Bella. Bella leaned against him and he embraced her, he wanted to know what she was thinking, but of course he couldn't.

"Is something wrong?" Bella asked noticing his distant look

"What are you thinking about?" Edward asked

"Nothing important" Bella replied and stood up to get some breakfast

Andromeda was still asleep, but even in her sleep she could sense she needed to wake up soon. She slowly opened her eyes and touched her face. Her face felt damp, she was crying. She looked around, no Edward. "Goodbye Edward"

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**I discovered two things in this chapter, 1) if i put my mind to it, i can be such a romantic. 2) I'm not including enough of Edward's family, so i should fix that**

**So, tell me what you think! Do you like my writing style? What can i do to improve it? Did you like the chapter? Anything**

**Thanks 4 Readin!**

**Plz Review!**


	7. Madness

**chapter 7, i'm going to warn you now, there's something's i didn't remember quite well so i had to improvise**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

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She got dressed and went to Cat's room and as usual made her go downstairs. Cat ran to her father and he picked her up and served her food. Andromeda sat down on the table; she was in no hurry to get to school. Mrs. Gates put a plate of food in front of her; it was low fat high in fiber pancakes, "Annie, what's wrong?" Mrs. Gates asked noticing Andromeda's eyes were red and her face was still tear-streaked.

"Nothing, I went to sleep late and messed up with the eyeliner, so I had to wash it off and too much water got in my eyes" Andromeda lied, she didn't want to tell her parents the real reason, she knew they would be disappointed if she did.

"Oh, is that all?" Mrs. Gates asked, she didn't believe Andromeda, water could not make her look so miserable

"Yeah"

"Alright, you don't have to tell me, just make sure you're making the right decision"

Andromeda did not reply to that and just ate one pancake and left for school. She had the CD's Edward gave her in the car, but she didn't listen to any of them. She arrived at the parking lot and saw Bella with Edward and the rest of the Cullens. She walked over to her friends with an additional person hanging out with them, Ryan.

"Hey" Andromeda said, Shane stood up and took her aside and left Crystal and Ryan alone

"What happened last night?" Shane asked

"I kissed Edward" Andromeda replied

"Wait, you kissed him or he kissed you?"

"Both"

"Annie, do you see that?" Shane asked and motioned his head to the Cullen clan, Andromeda nodded, "It's called a happy couple, Bella is happy with Edward and Edward is happy with Bella, and each has a person to be happy with, Edward is not yours, yours hasn't arrived yet, and so don't take others away"

"I know, just, can we please not talk about it" Andromeda asked, Shane noticed how bad Andromeda looked and agreed. They walked back to Crystal and Ryan and started asking him questions and talking as usual. The bell rung and each person set off for their class

Andromeda felt better in the first three periods, no Edward, of course she was in trouble for not doing the homework, but that only made her feel more normal. Her first period with Edward came and she walked in and took a seat. They didn't look at each other and the teacher walked in.

"I've decided that our normal teaching method, isn't quite doing the job, so starting today, I will choose two students to discuss and argue each piece of literature we read, since we read Romeo and Juliet not to long ago, we'll start with that one, today we'll be discussing Act I, the discussions have to include an event from each scene and may be interfered by a student in the audience, so which brave souls will come up first?" the teacher asked and looked around. She saw Edward looking distantly at the wall, "Mr. Cullen, since you seem to be so confident of your knowledge, please, go first"

"Alright" Edward replied and sat down on one of the chairs in the front the teacher put out

"Now, do you want to choose one of your colleagues, or should that be my honor?"

"You're choice" Edward said

"Alright, then"

'Not me, not me, not me' Andromeda thought over and over

"Ms. Gates, how about you? You scored one of the highest in the Romeo and Juliet practice test, I wish you could do the same with the other things we read, but anyway come on up" the teacher said

'Why does this happen to me!?' Andromeda thought, "Okay" she stood up and sat on the chair opposite from Edward

"Romeo and Juliet, Act I, first question. What are your beliefs on the character Romeo?"

"He's over emotional, impulsive and also kind of naïve, he fell more in love with the appearances of both Juliet and Rosaline more so than their character" Edward said

"But he was never in love with Rosaline, a man in love can't forget about his woman so easily just by looking at another prettier girl" Andromeda said

"Then that must mean that Romeo did not love Juliet as well, he fell in love with both Rosaline and Juliet the same way, at first glance"

"But unlike Rosaline, Juliet returned his love; she was swayed by who he was while Rosaline was only pestered by him"

"Rosaline didn't have to love him back for him to love her, there is such a thing called one sided love"

"One-sided love is nothing more than a powerful infatuation which is put in your dreams by queen mab that is created by the small hope that a wonderful person might fall into arms when it was not meant to be, it's just a distant daydream"

"You would know all about that wouldn't you?" Edward challenged and the students gasped and awed, "That was out of hand, I'm sorry"

"Forget it" Andromeda said and ran out of the classroom, Edward sighed and looked down, he felt like a complete asshole, he left the class and followed her to apologize. The students were smiling and some were still in shock. That had been one of the more exciting things that had happen that school year other than new girl Bella Swan.

"Andromeda, stop" Edward said and put his hand on her shoulder, they were already in the sidewalk.

"Let go of me!" Andromeda exclaimed and shrugged him off, he heard a sob coming from her and she leaned against a wall

"I acted out of hand, I shouldn't have said anything, you were right" Edward said

"Edward" Andromeda said calming down

"Yes?"

"If Romeo did love both Rosaline and Juliet, then, which one am I to you?"

Edward didn't answer, he simply looked away. They stayed in the comfortable silence for a while, "You're neither Rosaline nor Juliet, you're Andromeda, and it's Andromeda I love"

He embraced her, she didn't resist, she didn't move at all, "I'll never mention anything that hurts you, I swear it, I was a fool today and I should've known better. I'm sorry that I've made you shed so many tears and hurt you so badly" Edward said, Andromeda didn't reply and she was trying not to think, she just wanted get some air.

The bell rung and Edward let go of Andromeda, she left to get her books and go to lunch. Edward wanted to punch a hole through the wall, he hated himself, he hated what he was doing and he hated what he did. He couldn't leave, he had no explanation for Bella to leave without her. So he got his books and just went to lunch. He sat down with his family and Bella, Bella warmly greeted him. Bella barely touched her food, she always felt uncomfortable eating around the rest.

Edward was looking over at Andromeda; a new person was added to her table, her friend's new boyfriend. She smiled and eventually laughed over something one of them said. He saw another male come to join her table and focused on his thoughts.

"Hey, this is Peter, he's a cool guy" Ryan said, "This is Crystal, Shane and Andromeda"

Peter smiled at them and stayed focused on Andromeda, she smiled and blushed slightly. Crystal looked at Ryan who nodded, she suddenly got happier and Shane understood as well. The both gave him a thumbs up and Andromeda had an idea, but wasn't sure.

"Um, Andromeda, I have something to ask you" Peter said

"Okay" Andromeda said

"I'm in your biology class, and I've like you for a while, so…will you go to the dance with me?"

Andromeda thought it over and nodded, "Yeah, I'd love to go with you"

Edward tightened his fist and looked away, he felt many things at that moment, betrayed, angered, envious, understanding and above all, hurt. He imagined many scenarios resulting in Peter's death, not that he would do any of them, but just thinking about it was no harm. Alice looked at Edward; she saw what he thought in one of her visions. She and all the Cullens knew about him and Andromeda, they pretended not to know to spare Bella.

'Edward, don't do anything, think about how both Bella and Andromeda would feel if you threatened or killed him' Alice thought

She was right; Edward kept himself under control and tried to think about something else, 'I forgive you Edward' Andromeda thought. Edward glanced at her and focused back to his table.

'Something wrong with your 2nd girlfriend?' Emmett thought smiling, Edward glared at him and Emmett mentally chuckled. Rosalie also noticed his glance at Andromeda as well, 'If you're going to cheat on Bella don't do it in front of her face' Rosalie thought.

Jasper was only trying to concentrate on maintaining himself; he was so far doing a good job but had to keep a constant focus on it. Alice would say words of encouragement to help him along. Edward didn't look at them, but was listening to their thoughts, he was trying to entertain her and she was enjoying his stories and jokes.

The bell rung and Andromeda threw away her food, "I'll walk you to class today" Peter said. Andromeda smiled and nodded, "That'd be nice". They walked to the class, Peter was telling her about tennis, his favorite sport, she never enjoyed sports before but still enjoyed how Peter spoke about it. She got to her class and started day dreaming, she started thinking about all the places in the world she would love to dance in and some of her favorite dancers.

The class ended and now, the next two periods had to deal with Edward. She sighed and pushed the thought away, she sat down on her desk and found a neatly folded letter, she opened it and it read: _Why did you accept?_

Andromeda looked around and saw Edward looking at her from the corner of his eye, 'Because he's a good guy and I can' she thought. He took the seat next to her and the teacher walked in and the class began. Andromeda saw another note, she carefully unfolded it: _Does he make you happy?_

Andromeda slipped the note back to him, 'Yes' she replied by thought. She decided she wasn't angry at Edward anymore, she was not one hold grudges and found it useless to. The class ended and she walked out of the classroom, Edward pulled her into an isolated hall, "Are you going to get serious with him?" Edward asked

"I haven't thought about it" Andromeda replied

"I know, that's why I'm asking"

"I don't know, he just asked me to the dance"

"So you're going to forget about him after the dance?"

"And what if I don't? What if I decide I want him as my boyfriend?"

"…Then, as long as you're happy with him, it's fine"

"Thank you, I didn't need your approval, but I'm still glad I have it"

He suddenly kissed her. He continued kissing her even after the warning bell had rung; he was once again betraying Bella, right before meeting her. Andromeda was angry at herself, she had once again fallen back into his arms and forgiven him for times he's done her wrong, she was an idiot. Edward knew what she felt, though it was true that he had done wrong by her, it was also true that he loved her, and even though she cried because of him, part of her could still feel that he did indeed love her and always found a way to forgive him.

The tardy bell rung and they separated, Andromeda got to the girls locker room first and quickly changed and made it to the gym. They played volleyball, and once again for Bella, it was a disaster. Bella tried to stay out of the game as much as she could, even though it was the most awkward for Andromeda, it was also the funniest period.

The period ended and she got changed and got outside, she walked with Peter to her car, no one was coming over today. Crystal wanted to spend time with Ryan and Shane wanted Andromeda to spend time with Peter.

"I'm sorry Peter, but if I take you home now, my parents might have a heart attack, well, my dad might" Andromeda said

"It's okay, I don't want things to go to fast, it's more solid that way" Peter said

"Yeah, I think so too"

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow?"

Andromeda chuckled, "Yeah, I'll be here"

Andromeda drove to her house and got a small snack and went to her room. She threw her bag on the bed and took out her Spanish book. She quickly gave up, she just didn't understand the language save for a few words. Without thinking about it, she danced to a familiar tune in her head; it was the one Edward had hummed for her. She heard it being hummed and saw Edward standing in the corner of her room.

She walked over and rested against him, he continued humming the tune to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Do you know Spanish?" she asked, he chuckled. It wasn't unlike her to ruin silent moments, "Yes, I'll help you" he replied. He helped her with her Spanish homework and hummed her the tune.

He pressed his lips against hers and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He deepened the kiss and pulled her closer. Sure, it broke her apart to know that he was not hers and now she was lying to Peter and Bella, sure he was constantly plagued by his sense of morality by cheating on Bella, and sure they were both being pounded by guilt and the words of those who knew of their relationship. But even though it hurt her, even though she tried not to, even though she shed tears because of it, she loved him, and what is love other than temporary madness?

He stayed with her throughout the night, he decided not visit Bella and simply tell her that he decided to hunt before returning to the school filled with children. She woke up to him, this time her dream had ended with them sitting on the stage.

They continued seeing each other, day after day, and night after night. Andromeda cried less, which to her was an improvement, but had to leave at the sight of Bella. She always found comfort when she was at the ballet studio, she didn't think about anything but just dancing, the one thing she had always loved, and the one thing that never betrayed her or made her cry.

"Edward" Alice said one day

"Yes?" Edward asked

"Are you going to Andromeda again?"

"Yes"

"This is getting out of hand, Edward you can't do this, Bella is my friend, and what you're doing isn't going to last forever"

"I know"

"If you know it's just going to end badly, then why do you continue?"

"She's right Edward, you have to choose" Rosalie said

"Choose, isn't the best word" Carlisle said and walked over to Edward, "You have to decide with who your heart truly lies, Edward I understand that you care about them both, but nobody can have everything they want"

"What if my heart lies with them both?" Edward asked

"How can one object be in two places at the same time?"

"Just let her go" Rosalie said

Jasper and Emmett didn't want to interfere; they didn't know what to say. "If you're going to judge her, please don't do it in front of me" Edward said and started walking off.

"Nobody's judging her" Carlisle said but was interrupted

"What if we are? She had the same chance to stop this as you did but didn't, and you went to a new low two-timing Bella, how do I know she's not the same?" Rosalie asked

"Edward, I want to meet her" Esme said, "I heard she's a very kind girl, her mother talks about her with pride, she loves to dance is that right?"

"Yes"

"I think that's a good idea" Carlisle said

"Yeah, maybe I can get to know her better, I've never really given her a chance" Alice said

"Cool, girl number two is visiting us" Emmett said smiling and Rosalie walked away

Edward thought about it, he didn't want to hide anything from his family and they deserved to know Andromeda instead of assuming things about her based on her actions. Edward was still skeptical about it, but decided he would do so, "Okay, I'll introduce you to her"

It was the weekend, and he excused himself from Bella by saying he was going hunting. He didn't like lying to Bella, and he rarely did so, but this time he wanted to spend the day with Andromeda. Edward waited outside her window by the street. She was talking with Shane and Crystal, no Ryan or Peter, just the usual three. Andromeda turned and saw Edward waiting for her, 'What's he doing here?' Andromeda thought curiously.

Crystal noticed him too and gasped, "Annie! I thought you stopped seeing him!" she exclaimed.

"I wanted to tell you, but…" Andromeda said and faltered

"Oh Annie, don't tell you've fallen for him" Shane said and Andromeda nodded

"Have you slept with him?" Crystal asked

"No" Andromeda replied

Shane and Crystal looked at each other, they didn't know what to say or do, "I can't tell you what to do or not to do because I'm not perfect, but, whatever you decide, I'll stick with you no matter what, you're still Annie and I'm still your best friend" Crystal said

"Me too, by the way Crystal, that was beautiful" Shane said

"You think?"

"You could make it a hallmark"

"Thanks!"

Andromeda laughed and Crystal went to the window and did an okay sign towards Edward and a come in motion. Edward was surprised but came in anyway, he waited until Crystal left the window and entered the room without their noticing and took enough time to make it look like he did it as an ordinary human.

"Well, we'll give you too some space" Shane said and left

"I feel bad for Peter" Crystal said to Shane as they left

They went downstairs, "This doesn't feel right, I'm not comfortable letting Annie do this" Crystal said

"We tried to warn her, heaven knows we tried, but I think this is something Annie has to do on her own" Shane said

"I hope you're right"

"Well, that makes two us"

"Is everything okay?" Andromeda asked

"Yes, I want you to meet my family" Edward said

"You mean a family of vampires?"

"Yes, I know it sounds a little dangerous, but none of them will hurt you, Alice will keep watch of Jasper just in case"

"Okay, blood bag going to house full of vampires…do they know about me and you?"

"Yes"

Andromeda took a deep breath and sat on her bed, "I don't they'll like me"

"They have no reason not to" Edward said and sat beside her

Andromeda scoffed, "You're joking, they must think I'm some kind of horrible slut, and I don't blame them one bit, even I think that about myself" Andromeda tried to keep her tears at bay and gave in and let them escape

"Don't cry" Edward said and wiped her tear away, "It breaks me apart to see you cry"

"You should be used to it by now, I am"

"Just give them a chance; they've decided to give you a chance"

"…Okay"

Andromeda went to her bathroom to change; she put on a black undershirt and a long-sleeved gray v-neck over it, so you could see some of the black shirt and some jeans she found. She brushed her hair and just let it loose. She stepped outside and nodded, "Let's go" she said

They went downstairs, and her mother and father spotted her. Shane and Crystal stopped eating and looked at the scene. "Oh he's back" Mrs. Gates said, "Who invited him this time?" she was suspicious

"I did" Crystal said, "I saw him walking by and told him to come in"

"She has an alibi, I saw it" Shane said

"Why couldn't he come in through the front door?" Mr. Gates asked

"Because that is so 50's, sneaking in is in" Crystal said

"It's the weekend, shouldn't you be with Bella? You know, you're girlfriend?" Mrs. Gates asked and Mr. Gates got more interested

"She decided to spend some time with some of her friends today, but we decided to meet later on" Edward said

"Oh really?" Mrs. Gates asked, "Annie why don't you spend some time with your friends? Or Peter?"

"Shane and Crystal are right there, and I've told you before, I'm teaching Edward some ballroom dancing" Andromeda said

"So you two are going alone? Why didn't you just meet up?" Mr. Gates asked

"I was going to, but Crystal stopped me" Edward said

"Oh, so that's why he passing by" Shane said going along with the story and Crystal nodded

"Okay, we'll believe you" Mrs. Gates said, not really believing

"Have a good time" Mr. Gates said

"I will, thanks" Andromeda said and left, Edward followed her, her parents, they knew or at least suspected.

"We're gonna watch some T.V" Shane said

"Yeah, see what's on" Crystal said and grabbed the popcorn and left

"Thomas, do you think Annie's doing what I think she's doing?" Mrs. Gates asked

"God I hope not Eliza" Mr. Gates replied with a concerned tone

"I don't understand" Cat said

"Annie, please don't do this" Mrs. Gates whispered, "You have no idea how much this can ruin your life"

"We're going in my car" Edward said and Andromeda saw the Volvo in front of her house

"How did- never mind" Andromeda said and Edward chuckled

He opened the door for her and drove out of the driveway, they stayed silent on during the drive. She thought about what they would say, if they would like her or not, what she should do, what if they didn't like her, she imagined them pushing her away and scorning and sneering at her. Edward held her hand, "Don't worry" he said. She nodded and tried to think about something else.

They arrived at his house, he opened the door for her and helped her out, she didn't need help but accepted it anyway. He lead her to the door and opened it for her. She stepped in, everything looked sophisticated and elegant, it was open and very bright, she like it, but she was worried about if the people who lived in this house liked her.

"Do you think she's hungry?" Esme asked cooking something in the kitchen, "I hope she likes Grecian food"

"Her name is from mythology" Emmett said and Esme smiled and shook her head

Edward came in with Andromeda behind him, "Andromeda, this is Esme, Emmett, Rosalie and Carlisle"

"Oh, so you're Andromeda, I've heard a lot about you" Esme said and greeted her warmly, Andromeda didn't know what do say, she hoped the things she heard weren't bad, "Good things" Esme cleared up sensing her distress.

"I hope you're hungry, we made dinner" Carlisle said

Andromeda looked at the food they made and it was all one thing in her eyes…fatty. Andromeda nodded and Edward smiled knowing what she was thinking, "Um, I can't hold this is in, I really appreciate that you cooked and everything and I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but it's just, it's so much, I'm on a diet of 1400 calories a day, it used be 1200 calories but my mom told me that was too low so I changed it to 1400, and I already 400 this morning and all this food looks great but it also looks like it has a lot of saturated fat, and not mention carbs and I'm really conscious about eating fried stuff, I'm so sorry if I didn't live up to your expectations but it's just, I can't eat so much food, but I'll eat it if you want me too, am I talking too much? I'm sorry, I don't to hurt your feelings and it was really sweet that you cooked and, and I'll eat it…if you want me too"

"It's okay, you don't have to eat it" Carlisle said

Emmett laughed and shook his head in amusement, "I like her already" he said

"I'm sorry" Andromeda apologized again

"You don't have be, but why are you so worried about your weight? I heard you dance and you shouldn't be so worried at your age" Esme said

"It's a habit" Andromeda replied

"So are you eating or not?" Rosalie asked

"Rosalie, don't be so rude" Carlisle said

"Fine" Rosalie said and walked off

"Don't listen to her" Edward said to Andromeda

"It's okay" Andromeda said

"Hey, you must be Andromeda" Alice said coming in, "I'm Alice and this is Jasper" Jasper nodded his head as a greeting, "It's nice to meet you" he said

"It's nice to meet you as well" Andromeda said and smiled

"So how long have you been dancing?" Alice asked

"Um, I started when I was 6, so 11 years" Andromeda said

"You must be really dedicated to it" Esme said

"Yeah, I dance many types of dances, but my personal favorite is ballet, it's also the one I'm best at"

"I saw you dance at the audition some time ago, I didn't really know you that well but I thought you did an amazing job" Alice complimented

"Thank you that means a lot"Andromeda said, "Has Edward told you that I know?"

"About us? Yes and no, I saw it in a vision, but he later confirmed it" Alice said

"Vision?"

"Alice has some psychic ability, she can see the future once a person has decided it" Edward informed

"Oh…that's interesting, strange, a little creepy, but interesting" Andromeda said and he chuckled

"I was always curious to meet Edward's…" Emmett said but stopped, realizing he chose the wrong words

"Other, I understand" Andromeda said and looked down, she promised herself she wouldn't cry, not in front of them. They saw her trying to keep her tears at bay and stayed silent

"It's alright, nobody here thinks badly of you" Esme consoled

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be acting like this" Andromeda said and tried to compose herself.

"You know Andromeda, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like for you to dance for us, what do you say?" Carlisle asked

Andromeda looked at Edward, "You don't have to" he said, feeling guilty. She looked back at the rest, "No, I want to, I'll dance"

Alice smiled, "Come on, we'll make a space for you in the living room" she said and lead Andromeda to a large spacious living room, she moved some items aside and motioned her to join. The rest took their seats on the couches and Andromeda went to the middle of the living room, she looked around and didn't see Edward there. She suddenly heard music coming from a piano; it was the same tune he had hummed to her.

"You play piano?" Andromeda asked and Edward nodded

"Well, I'm here and I'm playing it, so yes, I guess so" Edward said

"Right" Andromeda said, she took a deep breath and began to dance, and imagine at the same time. She imagined herself dancing with a spot light, there was a crowd but they were silent, only paying attention to her movements. She moved with the melody and changed her steps with almost precise movement. She showed flexibility the Cullen clan had seen at professional ballets, and watched her with admiration. She woke up from her reverie and stopped and bowed.

They clapped and Esme stood up and walked over to her, "It was very lovely, you were great Andromeda, and it went well with the melody Edward made for you, you danced beautifully with it" Esme said and despite her usual cold skin, her hug was warm.

"Thank you" Andromeda replied

"You really are a kind girl" Carlisle remarked

"You really think I'm kind?"

"You are kind as you are talented; you apologize a little too much though"

"Hey, you dropped something, it stained the floor" Emmett said

"It did? What did I drop? I'm so sorry! I'll clean it!" Andromeda said and Emmett laughed

"She does apologize a lot, I really like her"

Andromeda smiled, 'So they like me?' she thought and looked at Edward who nodded. Her smiled broadened, "Um…you're a good doctor…I've heard"

Carlisle chuckled, "Well thank you, but I don't hope seeing you in the emergency room"

"You did well" Jasper said

"Yeah, maybe you could teach me some steps sometime" Alice said

Andromeda giggled, "Sure, I just need to get my grades up first"

"Come on, I'll show the rest of the house" Edward said and Andromeda followed him. They went up the stairs, and Edward pointed to each of their rooms, "This is Carlisle's office" he said and stepped in. She followed him, unsure, she looked around, it looked like any other office, well, what she thought what any other office looked like. He had some paintings on the wall, which she took interest in observing. A few of the paintings interested her, but she didn't ask about it.

"Those are the Volturi, they're like vampire royalty, or the closest thing to it. Carlisle stayed with them for a few years, before leaving to the new world" Edward informed her

"Oh…creepy, a little scary, but cool" Andromeda said and Edward chuckled, he lead her into another room, it didn't have a bed, just a couch. There was a large CD collection and large book collection as well.

"This is my room" Edward said

"Wow, you must be very bored" Andromeda said

Edward couldn't help but laughed, "A little bit, yes"

"You like music, literature, and can play the piano? You're quite the romantic"

Edward smiled and remembered something, "Wait here, I have some CD's I thought you might like"

"Okay" Andromeda said looking through his book collection

"Edward?" Rosalie asked and saw Andromeda instead, "Never mind"

"Wait, I'm sorry if you didn't like me" Andromeda said

"Oh please, you don't have to apologize for such a stupid thing"

"I know why you must not like me, and honestly, I don't blame you"

"Well you do know what you're doing is wrong?"

"Yes, I know, I used to think that all the people who did this were bad and selfish, now I'm asking myself if I'm a bad person, or if I'm selfish, because, I don't know what I am anymore" Andromeda said and covered her face, she didn't want to show Rosalie her tears, "I'm confused"

Rosalie didn't know what to say, Edward quickly back when he heard Andromeda's thoughts change, "You've said enough Rosalie" Edward said. Rosalie looked at Andromeda and left. Edward walked over to Andromeda and placed the albums aside, she wiped her tears away, "I didn't mean to cry, I'm sorry"

"Just, stop apologizing" Edward said and pulled her into an embrace, Andromeda looked up at Edward and felt herself being consumed by guilt again. Part of her wanted to stop, and part of her wanted to stay in his arms and just forget about the world, it was a constant battle with no winner. "I love you Edward" Andromeda whispered, and closed her eyes. He stayed silent and let her sleep, he was the who should constantly apologize, not her, he blamed himself for her misery, for her tears, and for her torn heart. "I love you Andromeda" he whispered, and in every way meant it, but it's hard to believe the words of one who's heart belonged to two.

* * *

**I admit, i copied some part of the movie, but i thought it would be fun to show the Cullen family Andromeda's weight obsessed side, so i hope it wasn't too bad**

**I tried to keep the characters in character, so you can tell me how i did with that...I like Emmett, and Jasper**

**So tell me what you thought!**

**Thanks 4 readin!**

**Plz Review!**


	8. Smile

**Hm...by far the longest chapter I've ever written. I think this is a like or hate chapter...who knows? XP**

**I just really want to thank people who are reading this, i haven't written a chapter in quite a while, so sorry if this one's a bit rusty, I'll try to brush up, just bear with me for now**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight...*sigh***

* * *

She slowly awoke and found herself on Edward's couch. Edward stood looking out the window, seeming to be in deep thought. She began to rise from the seat, glancing at Edward every once in a while, wondering what he was thinking about. He turned to her and smiled; she returned it and looked down.

"How long was I asleep?" Andromeda asked

Edward hesitated, "A while" he finally replied.

She nodded and didn't question it anymore. She figured it wasn't that long since the sun was still resting in the sky. She walked over to him and rested her head on his chest; he put his arms around her waist and kissed her forehead softly. She didn't think about anything, she was just looking off into the distance. She looked up and him and departed from his embrace, "I want to go home"

He nodded and agreed, "Okay, we'll go now"

He held her hand and they walked to the car together. She rubbed her temples and closed her eyes, still weary from her sleep.  
"Poor Andromeda, she's so polite" Esme whispered watching them drive off

Carlisle came up from behind her and put his arms around her waist, "If only they were both wiser"

"Nothing good can come out of this, can it?"

"I'm afraid not. We can only hope they realize what they're doing, and grow out of it"

Esme nodded and sighed. She walked back inside while Carlisle remained standing there, looking ahead at the empty yard. Rosalie stood behind him, "Are you coming inside?" she asked

Carlisle turned around and chuckled, "Don't be so impatient"

"Don't be so unrealistic, someone's bound to get hurt in this mess" Rosalie said as if she had read his mind. She shook her head and walked away, muttering to herself. Emmett stood there a little baffled and followed her. "She's just…" Alice began but faltered.

"Right," Carlisle completed solemnly.

Andromeda looked out the window and wondered why the trees moved quickly but she felt like she didn't. Edward smiled at her trivial questions which for some reason he always loved to hear. In a way, he always guessed, it made him feel more human.

"I never asked you" Andromeda began

"What?" Edward asked, not paying much attention to the road

"…Do you like to watch T.V?"

Edward couldn't help it; he burst out laughing. He shrugged and chuckled, "Sometimes, it's not very entertaining to me"

"Oh, when I was little I used to love cartoons" Andromeda suddenly smiled, "I remember the first time I picked up Romeo and Juliet. I remember reading it over and over again; never understanding what it was supposed to mean. One day, my parents decided to travel to New York, and we went to see it, that's when I finally understood"

He listened intently, seeing her memories of her as a child, seeing the play. Almost feeling the same emotions she went through, her admiration for Shakespeare's words, for his mastery of tragedy and romance and his entertaining ways of teaching youths about the importance of loving moderately.

"Do you ever think we're like Romeo and Juliet?" She asked

Edward kept looking at the road, "I don't know" he replied honestly. His Juliet was indeed loyal to him, but unfortunately it was Romeo who was not faithful.

"Sometimes…I hope we are, other times, I hope we're not" She said quietly

"Why not?" He asked

"Because, it ends in tragedy"

He slowed down and looked at her for a while. She began thinking about if Romeo had never seen Juliet dead, what if he had received the letter from Friar Lawrence, what if he had never married Juliet, what if he had never killed Tybalt which caused him to be banished, what if he had never gone to the Capulet Ball and seen Juliet, what if he hadn't done any of these things, would it end in a happy ending, and if it would've, would Shakespeare's masterpiece be as famous as it was today?

Edward held her hand and made her face him, "We aren't Romeo and Juliet; we can change our ending"

She smiled at him, "I guess" she said. She looked out the window again, and once again, her thoughts were inside the Capulet Mansion, dancing at the ball, with Juliet's Romeo played by her and Bella's Edward.

They arrived at her house and Edward, as always, helped her out of the car. He offered her to walk her to her door, but she refused, believing her parents would only ask questions from it, and he agreed with her. He gave her a small kiss on her cheek and left. She went inside her house and saw Shane and Crystal playing Candyland with Cat and her mother and father practically waiting for her.

"I can explain…" Andromeda began

"Really? It must've been an awfully long lesson"

"Well…"

"Well?"

Andromeda was at a loss for an excuse, so she decided to do just tell them the truth, "I…I went to meet his family, that's all"

Mrs. Gates looked shocked at her, and raised her eyebrows, "That's all? Is that you think Annie? That's all?"

"It's no big deal! He met you guys!"

"That's different; we didn't know he was in our house"

"Is that what you did Annie? Just walked into his house?" Mr. Gates asked

"No, they invited me, I was a guest"

"Oh, so they invited you? Is that because you're such a great teacher that doesn't tell everything to her parents?"

"I'm telling you everything right now! I didn't know both of you would react so badly, it's not like I murdered anyone!"

"You know what? I'm not arguing right now. When you decide to stop getting loud, then we can talk" Mrs. Gates said

"I'm barely yelling!"

"Just go" Mr. Gates ordered, "And I better not see Edward around here again"

"Okay" Andromeda said, giving in. She turned to walk up to her room but was stopped by her father, "And Annie" he began

"Yeah?" she asked

"Your phone please"

"Dad!"

"Your phone!" he said loudly

"He doesn't call me anyway"

"I don't care; I still want your phone, now I suggest you give it to me before I take something else with it too"

Andromeda sighed and handed him the phone with some force. She tried her best to stay calm while going to her room and Shane and Crystal followed her. She opened the door and left it open for either Shane or Crystal to close it, not wanting to slam the door needlessly. They entered and closed the door behind them and then Andromeda buried her face in the pillows and yelled into it.

"You're overreacting, it's not that bad" Shane said petting Andromeda's hair.

"I agree, you're just stuck without a phone…unable to communicate with your friends, and your information, and your boyfriend…and life…forget what I said, that sucks!" Crystal said eating a Klondike bar

"Do the words 'Not helping' mean anything to you?" Andromeda asked, her voice being muffled by the pillows

"Sorry" Crystal shrugged and sat down next to her

"Well look Annie; is it the phone you're upset about? Or Edward?" Shane asked

Andromeda looked away from them and stayed silent. Shane sighed and shook his head. Crystal puckered her lips and darted her eyes back and forth at Shane and Andromeda, "Annie…it's fine if you don't want to answer us, we just don't want you to get hurt"

"Crystal's right, maybe your parents were right about this, maybe you should stop seeing Edward, I know we told you it was up to you, but Annie, you have a date, he has a girlfriend, this is getting bad"

"I don't think it was ever good" Andromeda whispered

Shane and Crystal looked at each other and back at Andromeda, "Peter called," Crystal said, trying to change the subject, "He wants to go out with you next week"

Andromeda finally faced them, and slightly smiled, "I'm sorry, I just really don't want to deal with that right now"

"Okay, then call us when you're ready…you know, with the house phone"

Andromeda laughed and nodded, "Yeah, I will"

"Bye sweetie" Crystal said and hugged her

"Oh, I love group hugs" Shane said and joined them

Andromeda laughed as they rocked her back and forth inside the group hug. They all began to sing as well and wave their hands. Andromeda laughed, enjoying her time with her closest friends, who somehow always found a way to make her smile and forget about everything else in her life.

Andromeda waved them off her room and took out a CD to listen to and turned on her computer. She sat down and for once in her life, took a good stare at her room. She had been there most of the time, but never really looked at it. It has violet walls, her favorite color, the paint faded as it went to the ceiling and down to the floor, the only true color in the middle. She remembered once painting on those walls with marker, perhaps it was her imagination, but she could still she could still see the red marker across her wall. The floors were carpet, some parts more worn out than others. She lied on her bed, the multicolored comforter mismatching the violet walls and the heap of pillows all over her room and bed. She realized something that time, her room was tacky, but then she soon found something else, that she loved it that way. She turned on the CD, it was Imogen Heap.

She heard a knock on her door and turned towards it, "Who's there?" she asked. The knock continued and soon the door opened anyway. It was Cat, she came in and climbed on Andromeda's bed and rested her head on her older sister's stomach. "Hey Kitty" Andromeda said and pet her sister's hair. She picked her up and set her next to her on the bed, Cat turned and faced Andromeda.

"Annie, mommy and daddy are sad" she said

Andromeda nodded, "They're upset at me, Cat"

"Why?"

"Because…I'm being mean to them"

"Are you going to be mean to me?"

"No…" Andromeda said. She looked at Cat, the four year old was so innocent that Andromeda, in a way, envied her. She took her sister and pulled her in to a hug, "You still love me, right Cat?"

"I love you very much, but I don't like you when you boss me around" Cat replied. Andromeda laughed and gave the girl a kiss on her little fat cheek. She loved having a little sibling like Cat, she made her angry and like most children, it was all about herself, but she was also very loving and too young to understand anything that causes grief.

Cat jumped up and suddenly ran out of the room, she looked back and continued. Andromeda didn't question it; she just shook her head and chuckled. The computer finished loading up and she sat on it, wondering what she should look up. She heard Cat come back and turned around to see the girl carrying the small table with her tea set inside Andromeda's room.

"Cat, what are you trying to do sweetie?" Andromeda said walking towards her. She picked up the tea set and put it inside the table; she turned the table on its side and helped Cat push it in.

"We're going to have a party!" Cat said happily. Andromeda set the table in front of the bed where there was the biggest space and let Cat set up the room. She took the pillows and dropped them on the floor to use as chairs, and took the toy kettle and filled it with actual apple juice.

"Here, this is Tommy, Teddy, Tammy, Toby, Tyler, Terry and Tiny" she said, hauling in a wagon with stuffed animals, the wagon had a T on the side, which meant that was her stuffed animals that had names beginning with T. She went back to her room and got the wagons with the letter A, C, and E. She pulled out small cups and poured the apple juice in them.

"Sit down" she told Andromeda, who complied.

Andromeda laughed as her, what she considered, baby sister poured in the juice for her friends and her sister. Cat sat down and poured herself the leftover juice, "How was your day today Elise?" she asked toward the E section of stuffed animals. Andromeda smiled, "She must've had a bad day too" she said.

"No she didn't, she's not real silly" Cat giggled. Andromeda laughed, she forgot Cat wasn't that young and knew the difference between real and fake. There was a tapping on window and Andromeda looked back and saw nothing there. "May I be excused?" Andromeda asked

"Say please" Cat said

"Please"

"Yes, you may"

"Thank you milady"

Andromeda stood up and checked the window; she opened it and looked outside. "Did I get you in trouble?" she heard a voice ask. She jumped a bit and turned to him, "Edward, stop coming here, I'm not allowed to see you, and yes, you did get me in trouble" she replied.

"I'm sorry"

"Go away, I'm with my little sister, I don't want her to see you"

"Why not? Am I that threatening?"

"No, you're just irritating!"

Edward smirked with amusement and snuck a look of the small girl, she was to him, just a baby. She stood and climbed the chair to look at what Andromeda was looking at. "Cat! Go back inside!" Andromeda said.

"But I want to see!" Cat protested

Andromeda closed the window and picked Cat up, "No! I want to see!" Cat exclaimed. Andromeda started swaying to calm the now kicking child down. Cat rested her head on Andromeda's shoulder and stopped shouting. Andromeda snuggled her and started humming, she already knew how to calm her down, watching her mother doing it for years. Edward sat outside the window, watching them, and he wanted to join them. He wondered what it would be like having a sibling to fight you, to console you, to love you or hate you. Edward came in through the window while Andromeda lightly patted Cat's back.

He saw the baby was asleep in Andromeda's arms, and looked at her. Andromeda smiled at Edward, "She calms down easily, and she never gets too worked up either" she whispered. Edward nodded and looked back at the sleeping Cat, "What's her name?" Edward asked.

"Her name's Catherine, we call her Cat" Andromeda replied, "I asked my parents if they could give her a normal name, she was actually supposed to be Athena, but I was thirteen, and I didn't want to have a sister with an embarrassing name when mine was bad enough"

Andromeda walked to her bed and gently put Cat on it, she took a blanket and covered her and put the softest pillow she could find for the child. Andromeda took Edward's hand and led him to Cat's room, quietly walking the halls so that her parents may not suspect. They entered the girls room and the first impulse for Edward was to chuckle.

The room in almost every way was childish. The girl kept wagons of toys with each of the letters of the alphabet, on some wagons she had one stuffed toy, on others, up to six, with all the wagons, one would think they have money. "So, I'm guessing your sister likes toys" Edward said.

Andromeda nodded, "Yeah, she loves them, we can't afford everything she wants though, she we just tell her to ask neighbors and family for her birthday and Christmas". Andromeda looked around and began to pick up the room, it was mostly out of habit, for once she and her mother were responsible for keeping the room clean while Cat was an infant and their father at work. Edward picked up a small stuffed lion and slightly smiled, he looked up and saw multiple shelves with the small stuffed toys on them with several pictures.

He put the toy on the shelf and looked at the picture; the first one he noticed was the picture of a baby with a teenage girl. It was a newborn Catherine, with a thirteen year old Andromeda. He silently chuckled as he saw Andromeda had many blemishes and acne and at that time was wearing braces, but he saw her as a beautiful young girl. He moved on to the next picture, this time it wasn't Cat; it was a six year old Andromeda instead. She had a very cheeky smile, showing off her two missing front teeth. She sat on a metal Elephant and behind her there was a sign that read 'Animal Kingdom'. For a moment he wondered why there were pictures of Andromeda's childhood in Cat's room, but dismissed it.

Then there was a picture of just Cat, she was covered in spaghetti sauce, smiling as they took the picture in their own kitchen. She seemed to be more energetic that Andromeda, and had different smiles, for Cat enjoyed showing her bottom teeth. The next picture made Edward laugh, it was Andromeda looking angrily at the spaghetti stains, almost shouting at Cat.

"Why are you looking at those old photos?" Andromeda asked, coming up next to him. He turned to her; he saw how much Andromeda had grown from the pictures and was almost surprised. "I'm just…curious"

Andromeda laughed, "I'll never get over that stain" she said, looking at a picture.

Edward smiled at her, "Andromeda" he began and she turned to him, "How was it like…having a childhood?"

Andromeda was taken back, she found the question strange and a bit hard to answer. She remembered many things about her years as a little kid, but also forgot much more than she remembered, "I guess, it was very fun. When I was an only child, most of my parents attention was directed at me, they gave me whatever I wanted. I guess I had a very spoiled childhood, because when Cat was born, it all changed, it was all about the baby, I remember hating Cat when she was a baby because I didn't get everything anymore, but I realized that having a sister, having a forever best friend, was the only thing I ever needed…"

She heard a yawning from the door and turned to see Cat rubbing her eyes, "We never finished the tea party" she yawned. Andromeda smiled and walked towards Cat and picked her up. Edward was afraid to come near them, not wanting to destroy that moment which was so human it moved him. "Who's that?" Cat asked, spotting Edward.

"He's just a random guy from school" Andromeda replied

"I'm Edward" Edward said, introducing himself. The girl looked disinterestedly away from him and towards her stuffed toys, "We can't leave Toby alone, he's sensitive" she said.

Andromeda laughed and nodded, "Sure, let's go," Andromeda walked to her room and sat Cat on one of the pillows she set down for the tea party. Edward came in behind him, "So you're not angry with me anymore?" he asked

"I never was, I'm just upset about being grounded" Andromeda replied.

Andromeda sat down with the A's of her stuffed toys, and looked at Edward. Cat looked at Edward as well, "You can join us, but you have to be a gentleman, sit down please" she said. Edward laughed and sat down and almost immediately was getting scolded by Cat, "No! Sit down with the Elise, Emmy, Edmund, and Edgar" she said and led Edward to the E's. Cat went back her part and they continued to play along with her.

When Cat felt happy they played enough and got full of apple juice, she had Edward take her stuff back to her room since, of course, he was the gentleman. Cat went downstairs with a bunch of papers, ready to draw.

Andromeda went back into her room, grounded, and just continued looking at the computer. 'Edward, are we compatible?' she thought. Edward walked over to her and got down on one knee so that he may see what she was looking at. He saw that she was looking at their horoscopes.

"I don't know," Edward replied.

Andromeda sighed and rolled her chair towards him. She rested her forehead on his and smiled, "What's your favorite movie?" she asked

"I don't have one, actually, but I enjoy comedy, sometime tragedy" he replied

"I think that's close, my favorite movie is, and don't laugh, The Notebook"

"You seem like a big fan of Romance"

"You'd think that…but in truth, I just love how these movies go through the lives of different people, it's not all meaningless and impossible like action movies, its like living through someone else, experiencing their grieves, joys, excitement…"

"I enjoy music, I collect various CDs" Edward said, watching her space off, imagining herself once again as Juliet instead of the Notebook's main heroine.

Andromeda remembered the music he collected and touched his cold cheek, "Are you happy?" she asked. Edward looked at her confused, "happy?" he asked. She nodded, "I like happier music, because I'm happy with my life, I have parents, aspirations, siblings, a house, food, clothing, I'm happy to be so privileged that I like to hear happier music too, or calm, when everything in your life is ideal, why sadden yourself purposely?"

Edward had to admit that he never really thought of it that way. He asked himself, 'Am I happy?' over and over again. He had family, he had siblings, he had a house, 'food', clothing, when others were beggars on the street, he had money. He realized that not once had his family tried to help the homeless despite their wealth, not once had one of them volunteered at a homeless shelter, not once had they ever given gifts personally to sick, unprivileged persons and children at a hospital, for a moment he wondered if Andromeda had done any of those things.

Andromeda saw him think and pushed his hair back, "Its okay-- you don't have to answer now"

"Does helping other create happiness?" he suddenly asked

She thought about it and nodded, "I've helped once at a home, it was when I was fifteen, we were in Chicago for thanksgiving, visiting some distant relatives that was going through just moving there, I got upset thanksgiving dinner and left the house. I wound up at a retirement home, I saw how lonely all those people were, I sat down and talked with an old woman, Mildred, she was a really nice lady, and when she told her story, I could see her as the beautiful brunette she was in her younger days. I ate with them that night, the nurses joined as well, I never forgot how happy they were that someone came to visit them from outside, after that, I couldn't stop going there until the very last day when we left back for Forks"

Edward heard the story with interest, "Did it make you happy?" he asked.

She smiled and nodded, "That's the great thing about helping others, even if trying is hard, in the end, someone is always happy, whether it's you or the person you helped. I always loved dancing for that reason, it makes me happy, and I hope it makes others happy as well. I love the long hours of practice, trying to achieve perfect stamina, trying to correct all your mistakes to come as near as perfect as possible. The blisters on my feet are painful, but when I see others smile when I dance, the pain disappears. The process of perfecting a dance is beyond the most stressful things I do, but the result makes it all worthwhile, and that's the same with charity."

Edward never thought it was possible, for he was convinced to have reached his limit, but that limit broke, and he felt himself falling deeper in love with her. His entire life, he'd been cursing himself, cursing that he had no soul, and he then realized, he was not happy, and it was entirely his fault. He knew that Andromeda had become his happiness, that Bella had become his happiness, and that he was betraying both those joys in his life. "I love you, Andromeda" Edward whispered, "I'm sorry, for being the only sad thing in your life"

Andromeda smiled at him, "You do make me sad, in fact; you break my heart. But so did many other things" she whispered back. She felt Edward kissing her once more and moved closer to him. She separated and looked out, "It's sunset, you should go" she said. Edward nodded and kissed her jaw. He stepped out and jumped down to the ground. Andromeda leaned against the windows and saw him jump down, she slightly smiled, and rested her cheek on her hand.

Edward looked up at her, "See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O, that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!" he recited.

"Ay me!" she recited as well, teasing him, "Act 2, scene 2" she whispered.

Edward soon ran off, and she closed her windows. There it was again, the guilt, for she knew he was now going to Bella, he did every sunset. She tried not to think about it and went to the phone, she called Crystal and talked to her for a while until it got too dark and she was forced to rest. That night she was thinking about Edward and Bella, how often they were seen together, how Edward was able to publicly show his affections to her, she knew he loved her, it was hard to ignore every single day at gym. She found herself crying, and once again, jealous of Bella.

The day arrived sooner that expected and Andromeda woke up, still tired, and went to get ready. She put on her make up, trying something new that day, and fixed her hair in its usual way, she never liked to put it up in a pony tail, it gave her a headache. She put on some warm clothing and went down stairs. After carefully counting calories, she ate a cup of cereal with a half cup of milk, which would equal a total of one hundred and sixty calories for the morning.

She waited outside and Shane and Crystal arrived in Crystal's car that time. She got on and they drove to school together. The drive there was terrible in Crystal's car, there was constant loud music blaring out of her player, it was screamo music, and some heavy metal. When they got to the school, Shane practically jumped out of the car, "Freedom!" he shouted. Andromeda rushed out as well, to spare her ears any more damage, "Ow…I think my ears are bleeding" she said.

"Don't be such drama queens" Crystals said, eating a Snickers Bar. Andromeda chuckled and they waited for the bell to ring. The bell soon rung, and all the students rushed to their first period classes. Andromeda got off in a daydream as her Algebra II teacher attempted to explain radicals to the class. He gave back their previous test. He went up to Andromeda and shook his head, "Could've done better, Ms. Gates" he said and handed the test back.

It was a sixty-five, a complete F. Andromeda moaned and hit her head on the desk, "I really thought I did well this time" she whined. She wondered if she could work extra time to try to bring her grade up. She knew she wanted to go to Julliard School after senior year, but there was no guarantee of that and with her GPA so low, not even junior college would want her. As usual when she failed, she stayed after class, received a lecture she probably daydreamed during. She looked at her failing grade as she walked to her next period, she would have to get her parents to sign it, and being with Edward recently wasn't going to help her.

Second Period wasn't as bad, she failed with only a seventy, and at least it was a D. She really needed to start paying more attention, but between her dance lessons, Edward, Peter, laziness, and friends, it was hard to fit in schoolwork.

"Hey" Peter said, walking up next to her as they went to third period.

"Hey, how are you?" Andromeda asked

"Good, kinda worried though, were you okay over the weekend?"

Andromeda didn't know what to say, she had forgotten to call him, "Um…I just had a lot of homework" she said, 'That was dumb' she thought.

Peter nodded, "Well, I had some homework too, and I joined the baseball team, now I'm in tennis and baseball…" he started and continued. He spoke about his team members, and how each of them was. Andromeda admired him as he spoke of team effort with zeal; he was such a good guy, social, and more than anything, caring. She knew that he worked to maintain a good average, joined several clubs, and participated in sports. He knew how to appreciate an art, and how to enjoy all forms of it.

She got to her third period, English, and one of her periods with Edward. She walked in and took her normal seat. She saw Edward had already taken his next to hers, by now, the entire class knew that they were seeing each other, but the rumors did not spread that far, and most didn't believe it. The ones who did were usually girls, they only kept the secret because they liked to see the perfect Edward cheat on the perfect Bella whose boyfriend's eyes she had taken. Edward would tell Andromeda of how they imagined Bella's broken face when she would one day catch Edward and Andromeda together. She remembered how he winced, looking at the imagined face of Bella.

"Good news and bad news" the teacher began, "Bad news: Mrs. Stephens's class has no substitute and has to cram in with us. Good news: Today is the last day of our Romeo and Juliet discussions, and then we move on to the Merchant of Venice, Twelfth's Night, and our weird, non-Shakespeare play, Phantom of the Opera"

The class sighed and the teacher went out and came in with a bunch of students following them. Andromeda looked at the students with some detachment, imagining them as the final dancers for the ballet. She turned to look at her leading man, Edward, and saw him stiffen. Edward looked like a statue now, looking at the incoming students, he knew something and was not telling her. 'What's wrong?' Andromeda thought. She looked up and found out: Bella was among the students.

At that moment, she wanted to puke, just throw up right there and then, throw up literally and throw up everything between her and Edward. She stiffened as well and looked away towards a window. The girls plotting against Bella internally laughed, that was the moment they were waiting for, and they kept imagining Bella in pain. Edward wanted to shut the thoughts out; they were calling Andromeda a whore, and Bella the perfect victim. Andromeda was glad she couldn't hear thoughts, she didn't want to know what Edward was thinking, or Bella for that matter.

Bella smiled and sat next to Edward, "Hey" she said. "So, what's happening in this class?" Bella asked. Bella was fond of English; she found it easy to study and enjoyed reading. Though she was not a big participator, she knew the answer to almost every question. The teacher then stood and placed two chairs together, "The final debate, who will go and end it all?" he asked with suspense.

None of the students said anything, and Bella and Edward were trading notes. They were talking about something serious apparently, because Bella's mood changed from cheerful to serious. "Are you having a hard time?" she wrote on a piece of paper. Edward replied with a shake of his head and wrote something back. The teacher spotted Bella writing back to Edward, "Oh, Ms. Swan, taking notes already? Alright, you'll go then" he tapped the right chair.

She didn't argue much, she stood up and sat down, 'It's no big deal, I know the story pretty well' Bella thought, trying to encourage herself. She looked back at Edward who smiled at her-- she felt her heart melt as she looked at his Greek god appearance. He was so extraordinarily beautiful to him, but to Andromeda, coming from a world of dance and art, was too familiar with make up and costume to believe in true natural beauty, something always had to be altered, whether it be the hair, nose, color of eyes, skin, or lips. Edward heard this explained from her once and knew it was true, for he too had to be altered to reach a peak of beauty and admiration from females, he was no natural beauty, otherwise he'd be human, not vampire.

The teacher scouted around the room and saw Andromeda looking out the window. She was daydreaming; it was a part when Paris and Romeo were fighting. She wondered what would've happened if Juliet and Rosaline were rivals as well. "Ms. Gates…would you like to try?" the teacher asked. He remembered the last time she spoke, it ended in disaster. She began to shake her head but someone spoke up, "I think she should" a girl from the back called.

Andromeda turned, it was one of Jessica's friends. "Yeah, I mean, she got like the highest score in our entire class, she's never gotten that high from any other story" the girl continued.

"What do you say, Ms. Gates?" the teacher asked.

"I…" Andromeda began, wanting to reject the offer

Edward began to breathe unsteadily, he also wanted Andromeda to reject the offer, and the faces the girls imagined burned into his mind. "Come on! Go!" Lauren urged, standing up from the back. Andromeda knew Lauren had always something against Bella and still didn't want to go.

"Come on, the faster we go, the faster we finish" the teacher said, giving in.

Andromeda succumbed to the girl's wishes and sat on the left chair. She faced Bella and had to immediately look away, lest she throw up, cry, or tell her everything about Edward and herself. "Now, the final question and probably the most important to the story; there were five youths that died in Verona, including Romeo and Juliet, now, answer this: Who's to blame?"

The question was a trick one and almost impossible to answer correctly, for the way that Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet, in a way, it was everyone's fault and no one's fault. It was a series of events that lead to the ultimate misfortune, no one was ever to blame entirely and both Andromeda and Bella knew this. Of course, while no one was to be blamed entirely, who is most at fault?

"I think it is Romeo who is to blame" Bella said, beginning it. The teacher nodded his head, "Do explain" he said.

"Well, if you think about it, if it weren't for Romeo being sad over Rosaline, he would've never led Benvolio to convince him to go the Capulet party. And if he weren't so rash and so emotional, then maybe him and Juliet could've not gotten married so quickly, starting all their problems"

"So you're saying that Romeo's to blame because of his impulsivity and emotional state?"

"Yes, he was the one to fall in love with Juliet at first sight, and the one who let his emotions get to him and kill Tybalt, getting himself banished"

"I disagree" Andromeda said, not really knowing what she was disagreeing on, she too also believed what Bella was saying, but felt like it was different now, "I think the one to blame was Juliet"

"Juliet? That's interesting, and how is it Juliet?" the teacher asked

"It's true that Romeo did fall in love with her at first sight, but didn't she basically do the same, she was wooed by a few of his words and fell head over heels in love with him. While they did indeed love each other, they loved too fast. Juliet, after meeting Romeo, turned as impulsive and emotional as he was, telling me that she was easily influenced, she married Romeo but that's not where the biggest trouble comes from, it was her loyalty"

The teacher raised his eyebrows, "Loyalty?"

"Yes, she caused Romeo to die, and she caused Paris to die, because of her loyalty." Andromeda looked at Bella, "She trusted Romeo too much, she was completely devoted to him, when the noble Paris came for her hand in marriage, if she had married him, then she could've pleased her parents, and since Romeo was already gone, then she could've ran away afterwards. Because of her loyalty, and her newfound emotional and impulsive attitude, she went to Friar Lawrence and got the sleeping potion instead, she drinks it for Romeo and causes him to believe she is dead, killing Paris and Romeo in one scene. She did not think it through at all, unlike her old attitude, she changed throughout the play but became immature, and, in a way, needy. Her loyalty to Romeo was a fatal one, and cost her Romeo's life, Paris's life and her own life"

"So this loyalty and change in personality, caused the problems in Verona?" the teacher asked

"Yes; she is also to blame for Mercutio's and Tybalt's death, she also fell in love too quickly; she was wooed far too easily, and did not give their relationship time. She had the same emotional problems because of Romeo, and if she had stuck to her true self, the obedient one, she would've lived"

The teacher nodded, "But also, wouldn't it also be Friar Lawrence's fault? He did give suggest to her the sleeping potion"

"Yes, but he offered her the potion for her to be saved from the embarrassment and shame of having two husbands, wanting her and Romeo to be together was just another reason"

Bella spoke up this time, "Well, Friar Lawrence understood then, he didn't want Juliet to achieve her means of being with Romeo with marriage of another man; she would've felt terrible if she had been the wife of two men. Also it seemed that the potion was the only way out"

Andromeda nodded, "It seems that way, but it's not true, she could've ran away before even marrying Paris. Her family obviously let her travel alone, seeing how she had no escorts to the cell, well, she could've taken that chance to ask Friar Lawrence where Romeo was, and instead of coming up with this intricate plan, just run away while she was still outside"

"I don't think it worked that way--"

"Why not? If she really loved him as much as she said she does, then wouldn't she want to be with him as soon as possible?"

The class began to murmur, they did not find Andromeda's argument to be said very well, but they did find it as something to think about. The teacher was also impressed, "So, Bella, and Andromeda, tell me, what was Romeo and Juliet about?"

Bella smiled at Andromeda and looked towards the class, "It's about the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet and how their love was meant to end their family's feud"

"Well" Andromeda began, "I always saw it as, a sort of warning to people our age, to love moderately, and don't assume love at first sight 'Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast'. Shakespeare also, I think, wrote this play to say that love and lust are not the same, 'So soon forsaken? Young men's love then, lies, not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.'" She quoted for each of her statements. The bell rung and the students picked up their things and headed off to their fourth period class.

Andromeda had made it through the class without breaking down. Bella now took Edward's hand and walked over to Andromeda, "Hey, that was good" Bella said to Andromeda. Andromeda nodded, "Thanks, I like Romeo and Juliet, not a big fan of Merchant of Venice though"

"Yeah, Shakespearean comedy definitely isn't really funny" Bella agreed.

"Well, I need to get going to my next class" Andromeda said

"Yeah, well, later then"

Andromeda glanced at Edward and started walking, 'I have to tell her' she thought. Edward took a deep breath, but not too deep for Bella's blood was near him. Him and Bella walked to their next class together, after that one, then Edward would once again be with Andromeda.

"Is she one of your friends?" Bella asked, looking up at Edward

Edward felt his chest tighten, "Yes" he lied, "She's in two of my classes, and we're good friends"

"Are you sure that's okay? I don't think she knows about you and your family. Can you handle that?"

Edward smiled at Bella, "I think I can"

Bella once again melted; she was mesmerized at him and his beauty. He was perfect in almost every way to her. Of course she didn't know that indeed wasn't perfect, instead, he was a bigger sinner than she imagined. She saw her class and reluctantly let go of his hands. Edward saw her go; he stared at her eyes, eyes that trusted him, eyes that loved him. He now wanted to sob as well, and just start begging for forgiveness.

Bella was beyond beautiful, she was intelligent, kind, brave; he smiled, strange as well. He looked at his reflection through one of the windows on the doors—he despised himself. He wanted to join Bella, and at that moment, forgot about the rest of the world, and was only thinking of Bella. Her scent which appealed to him so, her beauty which she had no confidence in, the way she was overall. He never forgot why he fell in love with her.

The period ended quickly, not doing much either. Edward received his grades, all perfect of course, and walked to his next class. He saw Andromeda moping about her grade, 'A seventy-four? Just one point away from a C' she thought sadly, 'At least I don't have to get it signed' she thought. Edward chuckled; Andromeda was never one to do too much schoolwork, if any at all.

She walked in and saw Edward had already taken his place near her seat, for some reason, their history class could not catch up with what was going on between them. She never really understood why, but didn't question it.

She sat down beside him and looked away, 'Peter asked me to be his girlfriend' she thought. And he did so, during the previous period they shared. Edward's jaw locked, "Are you going to accept?" he asked, whispering. Andromeda sighed and looked at Edward from the corner of her eyes, 'Yes, he cares about me' she replied in thought.

The class started and Edward remained quiet; she didn't say or think anything of that afterwards.

The period ended and they moved on to Gym, both Bella and Andromeda dressed quickly. Bella, in hopes of seeing Edward sooner, and Andromeda, in hopes she would get to do some of her homework in the locker room. Andromeda began her algebra II homework, of course she wasn't paying attention and had no idea what to do, but then again, that's the beauty of guessing, you don't have to know.

After the period ended and everyone had their share of looking at Bella fall on the ground. Andromeda now walked with Shane and Crystal to Crystal's car. Crystal was talking about Ryan, her favorite subject nowadays, while Shane was talking about the costume designing for the plays. "Don't worry Annie, dancers are going to have the best ones, I can't have my Annie out there without looking like a star" he said. Crystal nodded, "Trust me, I'm in the theatre club, I've seen them, he's doing great for costume design" Crystal said and remembered something, "Oh yeah! There's an extra rehearsal tomorrow, don't forget"

"I wonder why they're making so many extra rehearsals," Andromeda said.

"Well, because not everyone can be as awesome as you when it comes to dancing" Crystal said, starting to eat a Three Musketeers.

Andromeda laughed, "Thank you, but I don't think that's it, wasn't the lead role sick for a few days?"

"Yeah, her costume's late too, she was sick during fittings" Shane said, rolling his eyes. For him, actors are never sick, just lazy.

"Hey! Um…Andromeda!" a voice called out. Andromeda turned and was surprised to see Bella waving at her. Andromeda, Shane and Crystal all froze in place, Crystal, after a while, began dropping her jaw in shock. She grabbed Shane and quickly walked, "We'll meet at the car!" she called back.

"Help me!" Andromeda mouthed

"Not our problem" Shane mouthed back.

Andromeda sighed and faced Bella, facing her one in language arts was bad enough, but now she had to confront her again in the parking lot. "Hey" Bella said, "So, I heard you were friends with Edward"

'Oh God' Andromeda thought, she felt like she was going to pass out, right then and there. She went as far as to glance at the ground to guess how much pain and injuries the fall would cause. She nodded nervously, looking like she was having a seizure, "Yeah, we've been friends for a while"

Bella smiled and nodded, "Did he ever tell you anything? When I first arrived?" she asked. Andromeda was at a loss for words, "Um…No, you were the new girl, everyone wanted to know who you were and so did he" she replied.

"Oh, well, I was just curious to meet you, you seem nice"

'Go away please' Andromeda thought, feeling as she might fall apart at any second. She never realized how terrible she was until she met the one person who would be hurt the most out of this entire ordeal. Not only would Bella suffer, but her family as well, and that was too much for Andromeda to bear, "I need to go"

"Okay" Bella said, sounding upset, 'Figures, even Edward's friends are too good for me' she thought. Andromeda looked at her with a bit of guilt, "So…did you want to talk?" she asked. Immediately after that, she couldn't believe what she had said, but she had to remember it wasn't Bella's fault that she fell in love with a monster that would cheat on her, and purposely toy with her feelings. Then again, little did Andromeda know that Edward indeed did love Bella, and that he indeed did love her. Bella looked shocked for a moment and nodded.

"Um…yeah" Bella replied. She hoped to become friends with only human friend she knew Edward had. Andromeda smiled, 'I guess I'll have to ask the questions' Andromeda thought.

"So, do you like Forks?" Andromeda asked.

"Um…yeah, it's nice" Bella said, almost lying; if it weren't for Edward, she knew that she would probably, more than anything, want to leave Forks, "I don't really like the cold though"

Andromeda understood, she had come from a warm area, so it wasn't unusual she didn't like the cold, "The people here are very nice though, they like you"

Bella soon found her own self cutting to the point, "Do you ever find Edward, you know, very attractive?" she asked. Andromeda looked at her with a bewildered and frightened expression, she wanted to throw up, and she almost backed away. She shook her head and smiled, "Well, he's good looking, but, I don't see him that way" she lied. She looked around and nodded, "I really need to go, don't worry…I'm just a friend, Edward loves you, I know, he's told me"

Bella's face seem to lit up and she waved, "Okay, see ya" Bella said and started walking towards her truck. Edward stood there, waiting for Bella. Andromeda kept looking at her walk to him; she decided that she no longer had the strength to keep seeing Edward, it's best to let go while Bella could still smile.

'Edward…please don't come by today' she thought and she knew he heard. Edward looked at Andromeda and at Bella, he knew that Andromeda had just had a simple talk to Bella, it was harmless, and he agreed with Andromeda; he knew he had to stop. Edward waved at her, like a normal human friend would when saying goodbye, and she waved back. Soon, he and Bella were gone.

She went back to her best friends, who waiting for her by the car. Andromeda smiled at them and breathed out with relief, "I lived no thanks to you guys" she said, chuckling. Shane and Crystal relaxed and Crystal dramatically wiped her forehead, "That was a close one, huh Annie?"

"So, how are you feeling?" Shane asked, noticing Andromeda looked sick talking to Bella. "Just a moment" Andromeda said, putting up a finger. She walked over to the front of the car and stood on the grass; there she puked. She literally threw up and walked back to Shane and Crystal, "I'm fine" she replied.

Crystal looked at the vomit, "I'll never eat oatmeal again" she said, looking at it with disgust. Shane crinkled his nose and waved his hand in front of his face, "Or cereal" he added. The smell was putrid and they quickly drove away, leaving the mess to someone else.

They got to Andromeda's house and started doing homework, surprisingly. Then again they stop after only thirty minutes at it. After thirty whole minutes of very exhausting work of guessing, they decide to relax. Crystal turned on the T.V and started making some popcorn so they could watch a movie, in Crystal's opinion, the right way. Shane laughed at Crystal, "Fatty" he said. In reality Crystal was only slightly above underweight, having a very high metabolism. Andromeda laughed "And lucky" she added, she always wanted to high metabolism like Crystal, but it was good that she didn't have low.

"So ladies, what's the topic?" Shane asked as Crystal sat down with the bowl of popcorn.

"Are you gonna go out with Peter?" Crystal asked Andromeda, "He's crazy for you, Annie"

Andromeda nodded, "Yeah, I kinda like him too, might as well give him a chance, right?"

"I think it's a good idea, you don't need Eddykins anyway" Shane said, starting to eat some popcorn.

"Let's talk about something else…any cans for the food drive?" she asked. Crystal and Shane sighed, "Give it up for Virgin Annie" Crystal said sarcastically.

"Well, it's for a good cause! And I can't think of anything else, and you people aren't helping!" she protested

"I know…I heard Lauren was a real bitch today towards Bella" Crystal said. Shane smiled and looked shocked, "Little Bella is meeting some enemies" Shane said with a hint of joy in his words. Andromeda remembered talking to Bella, "I don't think she's that bad…" Andromeda said

"I think you're not supposed to, you are having an affair with her boyfriend" Crystal said and received a glare from Shane. Andromeda bit her lips and shook her head, "No, I stopped it today" she said.

Shane and Crystal stared at her for a while, trying to see some truth in those words, "I'm really happy you did, maybe our lives can get back to normal" Shane said. "Well, they've been pretty normal, just normaller, you know, without you being sad" Crystal added.

Andromeda laughed, "I understand"

After the sun had fallen, they left and Andromeda ate dinner with her family, and went upstairs to look at her books and procrastinate. She had ballet lessons the next day, she still needed to improve if she were to ever get to Julliard. She put on her ballet slippers and began to practice Gran Plie's in fourth position, holding a bar her parents put in for her for help in balance. Edward didn't show up that night, and she was relieved.

The rest of the week continued like that, Edward stopped showing up, and Andromeda found herself smiling more often. She kissed Peter lightly and headed to class, she was happy with her decision to go out with Peter, he was truly amazing and more. He was a good boy, unlike the popular bad boys girls like, but she preferred someone who treated her well, like a true gentleman should, and not like some piece of hot trash.

"See you later then" Peter said, dropping her off from their date.

"Yeah, I'll see you later" Andromeda nodded, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his. He kissed her back and pulled her closer to him. They separated but remained hugging, "I enjoyed myself" Andromeda said.

"Yeah me too, I say we continue the date" Peter joked; he knew it was too late. Peter's parents and Andromeda's both agreed they liked the match, and let them continue going on. Peter smiled and reluctantly let her go, "I'll see you later" he repeated. She gave him a small peck, "Just don't forget" she said, smiling.

"You know I would never" he replied

She nodded, "I know" with one last kiss, she left for her house and him for his car. She stepped in her house and saw her mother coming out of the laundry room, "Annie, can you baby-sit Cat next Saturday, don't worry, we'll be back before you have to leave for your job" her mother asked.

"Mom, I have--"

"Please Annie, we don't ask you for much, just do these for me"

Andromeda nodded, she saw her mother was stressed, and not feeling well. She knew she owed her mother, but still, one couldn't help feeling it was unfair. Andromeda nodded and went back to her room to change out of the clothes and get comfortable.

The days passed, still no Edward, much to her relief. She knew it had ended for good, and she was glad. She saw began to practice Fouettes, of course she had to clear the room, but it took a lot off her mind. She stopped, ending in position five, and felt arms around her waist; they were cold. "Edward" she whispered. She felt his icy lips touch her jaw and neck and she turned to him, "I'm tired of saying this, but I say it until you listen: leave".

Edward kissed her instead; she was, as usual, helpless to stop him. What could she possible do? He was too physically strong for her to fight against. She let him lead their lips, she didn't want to put even the slightest bit of effort at what they were doing again. She wanted to be selfish, and just forget about her iniquity. Nevertheless, she pulled away, "Edward…leave". He once again took her lips, as if every time she told him to leave, he would think it was an invitation. They parted sooner, and Andromeda resolved the 'leave' problem, "Get out" she said instead. He chuckled, he knew what she was thinking; "That's a synonym" he said and just once again kissed her.

"Why did you come back?" Andromeda asked, now in his embrace. He traced the outlined of her back, making her shudder, "Because, I missed you, and I can't forget about you" he replied. She buried herself in his chest, breathing in his scent, she didn't care how beautiful or strong he was, he was hurting her, and she felt her heart break once more.

"Why are you bent on making me a bad person?" she asked.

Edward breathed deeply, wanting to almost taste her metallic blood. He had grown to love the smell of her skin, hair, and even blood (which he didn't find special). He knew he loved the taste of her lips, the feel of her touch, and the brilliance of her beauty, both physical beauty, and the beauty that cannot be seen, which he knew he lacked, more than he would ever love the taste of blood, or even himself.

She couldn't see him clearly, and walked to her bathroom and got her glasses. The lenses were thick, for her eyesight was the worst in her family. He stared at her green eyes, he hasn't for some time, only seeing her violet ones when she comes to school and sometimes glances at him. She wasn't embarrassed, she already gave up on pride as soon as they saw each other, despite having significant others. "I love you" he whispered as she sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Don't say that…please" she whispered back, she felt as if she spoke even a bit louder, the world would find them, but she knew the world had better things to do.

"I love you, more than words can possibly express it," He kneeled in front of her, he saw her eyelids were red from allergies the make up caused, and the bottom of her eyes were swollen and bright pink, due to the same reason. She didn't seem to care, maybe if she showed him how she looked without the face altering products, he'd be repulsed by her, and leave. "You're wrong, I still think you're beautiful" he whispered. She closed her eyes as he lifted her glasses and kissed her lids. He set the lenses back in place and went on to a smaller kiss on her lips.

"I hate you" she said, with a cracked voice. She cupped his face; it felt frozen, and stiff. She lifted her hand and swung it down, in an attempt to slap him. He caught her hand and stopped her, he knew he wouldn't have felt it if she had hit him, but he wanted to believe he would've. She raised her other hand immediately and attempted it again, only to be caught once more. He pushed her flat against the bed and took her lips. She tried to push him off, honestly trying.

Her attempts were all hopeless, and she cried. "I hate you, you stupid, selfish asshole!" she yelled. Edward realized what he was doing, and regretted it. He felt disgusted by himself and his actions, holding a teenage girl down so that he may get his way, even if it was just a kiss, he began to loathe his being. He let her go, "I'm sorry" he began, "I'm so sorry". He now sounded like he was begging, "I took it too far, I'm so sorry" he leaned against a wall, repeating that, hoping that will make his sin go away. He looked at her; she was calm now, staring at the entrance to her closet, her eyelids and the circles underneath her eyes, now swollen to the point where she only had two slits allowing her to see. She took off her glasses, not wanting to see him, even if it was with peripheral vision. He wanted to beg for forgiveness, but he knew that he didn't deserve even the slightest bit of acknowledgement. She fell asleep soon; crying always made her tired for some reason.

He picked her up and set her down completely on the bed. He took a sheet and covered her and put her glasses on her night table. He got on his knees and leaned against the bed; he let out a choked sob, but he knew no tears would come out. He closed his eyes, hoping he would sleep as well, but he couldn't. He was tired of being reminded he wasn't human, and that he was nothing more than cursed. He looked at Andromeda, he saw her dream. It was her and Edward, he was embracing her, trying to protect her, but he broke her bones instead, and she cried, her dreams of being a ballerina, now crushed along with her body.

He leaned back, his jaw trembling, and shook his head, "I won't hurt you, I won't crush your dreams, I won't put you in anymore pain, I won't come near you again, I'm so sorry". He stood up, and gently kissed her forehead. She shivered from the cold touch and pulled the sheets closer. He walked towards the window and looked back, "Goodnight, Annie" he whispered. That was the first time he had ever called her Annie, but now as he saw her sleep, looking peaceful, she looked like a little Annie. He left the room and stood outside, looking at her window, "I will be a better man" Edward said to the window, as if it were Andromeda herself, "I want to be a better man for you. I'm glad you have that kid, he loves you, and he treats you well. I'm jealous of him, but at least now I know that you'll be happy without me. I don't want you to change because of me, I don't want to see you heart broken anymore, I don't want to see you cry anymore… so I'll leave, and let you be happy, just, don't forget to smile every once in a while when I'm around…just one"

He started walking, for the first time in his dead life, finding it hard to concentrate on the road. He stumbled, something he never imagined doing, something he never thought possible for a vampire, and he knew his pride was shattered. He felt the gaping hole appear in his chest and he rested against a tree-- there he cried. He looked back at the window, "Just one smile" he sobbed, "You'll never see me again"

The next morning, Andromeda woke up and felt around her eyes, the swelling was almost gone. She turned to her side and looked at the ceiling, it was Saturday, she had to baby-sit Cat. She stood up and remembered how she went to sleep, and her different placement. She mentally thanked Edward and put on her glasses and went to the window. As if the window was whispering Edward's words from the night before to her as she looked out. She smiled.

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**Now...who can honestly say they read through that entire chapter witout taking a break? Yeah...not a lot, lol, it's okay though**

**I'll try making the chapter's shorter next time, and Edward less of a asshole (or pansy, whichever you find more fitting). I was reading twilight again for this story to get a proper grasp of the characters, Edward is obviously a bad boy, but reading new moon, you also find he's sensitive when he explains to Bella his suffering while they're...Spoiler alert by the way. And not to mention he sometimes can get a little possessive, again, this is demonstrated in new moon, the whole Jacob, motorcycle, prevent Bella from seeing him ordeal. So I tried to use these characteristics, but unfortunately failed.**

**So sorry if I'm made him out to be an arragont jerk, that was not the intention. I will try to improve my writing and not overdo things.**

**Thanks 4 reading!**


	9. Again

**Fastest update I've ever done in my life...XD**

**Yeah, not a very eventful chapter in my opinion, just James, and it's very vague. I should probably write more in Bella's prespective, then again, she doesn't know about Edward and Andromeda, so I always guessed her perspective would be the same. But Maybe I should include that she's noticing Edward disappear more and things like that...I just had an epiphany XD**

**Thanks for reading for those who've come this far**

**Disclaimer: I don't own twilight.**

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She went downstairs in her sleepwear, having no where to go that day except work later on. Cat was also downstairs in her pajamas, and some oversized fluffy slippers that belonged to their mother. Andromeda smiled and kissed Cat's head as she ate a pop tart while sitting on the couch next to her dad.

"Where's mine?" he father asked, touching his cheek. Andromeda laughed and gave her father a kiss as well. "Is there something going on between you and Peter?" he asked.

Andromeda looked at him strangely and shook her head, "No, of course not, why would you say that?" she replied. She didn't understand how her father came to that conclusion and remembered Edward, and her yelling to him. She didn't hate him, she wanted to, but she couldn't. Her father noticed a change in her expression, "What happened? I didn't go in and check because I thought you might want to be alone if he…"

"We didn't break up, dad" she cleared; she gave him a hug from the back. She was thankful to have a father like him; she couldn't imagine having one that didn't care about as much as he did, and she found herself shedding a few tears. He felt her start to cry and stood up to console her, "Shh, what's wrong? What happened?" he asked worriedly, hugging her, and trying to calm her down. She began to cry freely, feeling safe in the arms of the man who gave her life. In her eyes, there was no one like daddy.

Eliza, her mother, noticed as well and soon started to soothe her daughter. "Don't cry baby, what's wrong?" she said softly. Andromeda shook her head; "I'm fine, but I want to tell you something…" she began. She wanted to tell them about Edward and her, and hope they take all of it away, but she knew it was her responsibility, and the most that she could do was to tell them and hope they didn't become so disappointed in her.

Thomas, her father, let her go. He looked at his wife, and feared that she was going to come forward. He felt somewhat proud, that his daughter was able to trust them enough to tell what she had done wrong without them finding out, which they already had, and calling her out on it. "I've been going out with Edward Cullen for a while…and Peter too" she whispered. That was the blow, and they took it much better than expected. Thomas took a deep breath and nodded, and Eliza seemed to stop breathing.

Andromeda didn't hear anything from them, and decided to continue, "Edward still has a girlfriend, and he stopped coming here for a while". Thomas spoke up now, "How often did he visit you?" he asked. Eliza didn't think about what the answer was going to be, she just stood there as if she were made out of stone. "Every night" Andromeda managed to push out.

"What did you two do?" Eliza finally asked.

"Nothing serious…I swear"

Both parents looked at each other; they seem to know what the other was thinking. It was Edward that was there last night and made Andromeda yell. Both of them remembered the yell and regretted not coming into the room, they now had forgotten their daughter had been seeing the Cullen and betraying her boyfriend, and were now scared to think of what had been done to her done to make her yell those words while crying.

"Was he here last night" he asked, starting to sound angered.

"What did he do to you?" Eliza immediately added, now truly being overtaken by worry. Andromeda saw that Cat had begun to cry, never seeing her parent's faces in that expression, and Andromeda being between them. Eliza took Cat and went to a small nursery in their home, where she worked on calming Cat.

"Come here" Thomas said and told her to sit down. He sat down beside her and tried to sound as composed as possible, "Did Edward do anything to hurt you?" he asked slowly. Andromeda looked down and shook her head. He knew she was lying, if Edward had not hurt her in any way, emotionally or physically, she wouldn't have yelled that she hated him. Eliza came back from the nursery and sat down next to Andromeda. She looked at Thomas, and he shook his head, telling her that Andromeda would not say.

"Sweetie, look at me" Eliza said and Andromeda did so, "I want the truth, and I'm sorry for us thinking this way but we need to know. Did he, in any way, force himself on you?"

Andromeda didn't respond. She didn't know how to answer the question, he had not hurt her, but she did remember him pushing her down on her bed, and she did remember trying to fight him off. But he did not violate her as her parent's suspected, and did not want Edward to get in a fix for something he had not done and was sincerely sorry for. She remembered Carlisle and didn't want him to be disappointed in Edward; she remembered Alice, then Emmett, then Rosalie, then Jasper, then Esme. She couldn't imagine how Esme would feel if Edward was accused of such a thing. He had only forced his kiss on her, but nothing else, and did not hurt her in any way, other than her emotions. So she did not reply.

Thomas and Eliza feared the worst, "Answer the question" he said, his voice rising. Andromeda shook her head, "Not the way you think, he didn't hurt me and it--" she began but was interrupted.

"So he did?!" Thomas exclaimed, standing up, "I can't believe this! Why didn't you tell us sooner!?"

"It's not the way you think!" she yelled back

"Did he violate you!? I want the truth!"

"No!"

Cat woke up and was soon crying again. Thomas shook his head in frustration, "I'm calling the police" he said. Andromeda went to her father, "Please! Don't!" she cried. Despite her efforts, he reached the phone, "Please, dad! Just listen to me!" she screamed. The room fell silent except Cat's crying. Cat walked out of the room and headed towards her mother, still crying. "Oh my baby" Eliza said, picking up Cat. Andromeda looked at her father and stepped back, "He wasn't trying to hurt me, he…he loves me, he just wasn't thinking about his actions. He didn't hurt me, he just kissed me and that's all. Heck, some girls find forced kisses romantic…quite honestly I don't know what they're on" She slightly joked and her father chuckled, "But dad, please believe me, he will never, really, never do it again". She remembered seeing his face twisted in pain after he had pushed her, she remembered his countless apologies, she remembered hearing his sobs, and forgave him, despite knowing she shouldn't.

Her father calmed down and put down the phone, "Okay, at least let me talk to his parents" he said. Andromeda thought about it and nodded, even though she didn't want to hurt them, she knew talking to them would be better than having cops arrive at their door. He sighed, he intended to talk to them today, and he was not a man to leave his problems for another day. Eliza took Cat to the kitchen and fixed her some warm milk in a sippy cup. "Do you need me to go too?" Eliza asked her husband. Thomas walked over to Cat and pinched her cheek, which made her giggle. Andromeda smiled, often did her father go to Cat to think about things rationally, sometimes he would invite her and Andromeda to watch a game with him, happy he had daughters to remind him of the good things in his life and help him think. He looked at his wife and shook his head, "Carlisle's a good man, and you need to take care of Cat" he decided. Eliza nodded, "Okay, call me if anything" she agreed. They gave each other a small kiss and he told Andromeda to get dressed. She got ready, without make up since it was not a good idea with swollen lids, and went downstairs.

They got in his car and Andromeda began to grow nervous. She had no idea what Carlisle would say, or Esme, or Edward himself. The drive was long, and silent, none of them said much to each other. In truth, Thomas needed to know that Edward wasn't coming back, he may have not hurt his child now, but he had no idea about later. They arrived at the Cullen's house, and stepped out. Andromeda felt strange just dropping in on them like this, perhaps they should've called.

Her father rang the doorbell and soon Carlisle opened the door to answer. 'Is he there?' Andromeda thought, thinking about Edward. She felt like Carlisle was opening the entrance to the Capulet tomb, instead of his house.

"How are you, Mr. Gates?" Carlisle asked, shocked to see him there. Esme soon appeared behind him, just as shocked, and confused. Andromeda stood next to her dad and bowed her head in shame, she didn't want to be there, but she was doing it for her father, "Andromeda?"

"Dr. Cullen, may I speak to you?" Mr. Gates asked politely

"Of course, about what, if I may ask"

"I have some concerns regarding your son, Edward"

Carlisle was taken back; Edward had never brought any complaints to their house, and he was worried about what he might hear. "Come in, please" Carlisle said and opened the door to let them in.

"Do you want a drink? Hungry?" Esme offered, worried about why they might be here. She couldn't imagine Edward doing something wrong to Andromeda, so what was it. Mr. Gates shook his head, "No, but thank you" he refused. Andromeda nodded, "Can I have some water?" she asked quietly.

"Of course dear, no problem" Esme said and went on to get the water, worry still plastered on her face. Carlisle led them to the living room and offered them a seat. They sat down and Andromeda looked away.

"Mr. Gates, what concerns do you have about Edward?" Carlisle asked.

'Edward, are you here?' Andromeda thought. Edward heard from his room and wondered if he was dreaming. He silently went down a few steps of the stairs and heard Carlisle and her father speaking. He heard Mr. Gates' thoughts and shut his eyes. He stepped down lower and looked at Andromeda, she was there. He looked away; he didn't deserve to look at her.

"Your son, he was in my house last night, and I wouldn't be bothering you personally if that were the case, but you see, I heard my daughter screaming and crying" he said, his voice starting to break. Carlisle then understood what Thomas was trying to say, and had no response to it, "She's told me your son didn't hurt her, and from just looking at her, I think it's true, but I don't know how to believe her completely, you didn't hear what I did. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that maybe Edward, he may have not done it last night, but he…"

"I understand" Carlisle said. He had never heard such things about Edward, and he found it hard to look at Andromeda and picture her yelling because of Edward. Carlisle faced Andromeda, "Andromeda, what did Edward do to you exactly? I need to know everything"

Esme gave Andromeda the glass of water, and shook her head with disappointment at Edward. Edward saw Esme walk away, covering her mouth, already it was too much for her and Andromeda hadn't even answered. Edward stared at the bottom of the stairs, to ashamed of himself to move, or even speak. Andromeda looked at the glass then at Carlisle.

"I didn't want to see him anymore, I was going to slap him but he caught my hands and pushed me down on the bed, it wasn't hard though, and he just kissed me. That's it, I'm okay, and he apologized afterwards" she told

Carlisle nodded, "Did you want him to do those things, or was it forced?"

Edward realized what he looked like, an abuser. He had abused Andromeda and he knew it. It was a common misconception that it was only abuse when someone was physically hurt, but in truth, abuse could be what he did, and that was force someone to do something against their wishes, so even if it was just a kiss, it was against her wishes and she was forced by him to do so, therefore, he abused her.

"He made me, but I didn't try to stop him" she lied. She did try, she kicked wildly trying to stop him. Andromeda hoped this would help Carlisle and Esme to not be so disappointed in Edward. 'Edward, I never expected this from you' Carlisle thought. Alice was hearing as well, but from the outside, and she was disappointed too. Edward found the strength to come down and faced Carlisle while standing behind Mr. Gates and Andromeda.

"She's lying, she did try to stop me" Edward said quietly. Andromeda turned and saw Edward, he looked miserable. He didn't look at her, only at Carlisle, "I did hurt her, I did force her, and I did ignore her when she fought against me, but I will never do it again. If you want me to leave Forks, I will, please believe me; I don't want to hurt her anymore"

"Edward," she said and stood up. She had never seen him so miserable, despite his ever beautiful face, he looked worn out. She found herself walking towards him, to be suddenly stopped, "I don't want you near him" Thomas said, angrier than ever.

Carlisle stood up and walked to Edward, "I'm sorry, Carlisle" Edward said. Edward bowed his head in shame once more; he couldn't look at Carlisle and Andromeda at the same time. Andromeda looked at her father and pleaded him to let her go. He knew what Andromeda wanted, but he didn't want his daughter to have feelings for a boy who would mistreat her, and he didn't want his daughter to run to another while she already had a significant other.

Andromeda looked at Edward, 'Edward, look at me, please' she thought. He didn't, he couldn't. 'I forgive you'. He finally looked up at her, she was wearing her glasses, he could see her green eyes again; "Thank you" he whispered. Mr. Gates looked confused, he had no idea what he was thanking her for, "Go ahead, talk to him, if you trust him let me know, because otherwise, if I see him near my house again, things won't end pretty" Mr. Gates said and let go of his daughter.

Carlisle moved out of the way and Mr. Gates followed him elsewhere in the house. They still were close, in case anything unexpected might happen. Edward and Andromeda stared at each other, neither one knowing how to start. Andromeda walked towards Edward and hugged him, "I'm still in love with you…" she whispered. She punched his chest and wanted to see him in pain, "But I hate you so much". He stood there motionless, just listening to her, "I want you to go away, but…I don't want you to disappear". She removed her coat and embraced him again, wanting to feel the cold off his body. Rested her head against his chest, "Get out of my life, and let me forget about you" she finally said, the cold starting to feel like needles against her skin.

Edward felt a jab and the hole opened up again, "I can do that" he replied. She separated from him and looked up. She was the one who kissed him that time, and she kissed him deeply, knowing it was the last time she would. Edward wrapped his arms around her waist, not wanting it to end. She separated and gave him a small peck that soon turned into a full kiss. She looked away and bit her lip, "O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?" she recited, heart broken. She imagined herself on that balcony, asking Romeo why he was a Montague, but instead, she was asking Edward why he was the other man, instead of her public love.

He knew this, and knew they couldn't be together anymore, they never could; "Henceforth I never will be Romeo" he recited as well. He kissed her forehead, "I still love you, Annie". She looked up at him, surprised to have heard him call her Annie. She couldn't resist, she pulled him down and took his lips, and he gladly let her. He picked her up while they still had their lips locked, so now they were at the same height.

They departed and he set her down, and like the true ballerina she was, she gracefully landed on the floor, and stood with perfect balance. She didn't look at him, and he looked at her for the last time. He brushed a lock of her hair aside and kissed her cheek, "Goodbye" he said.

"Goodbye" she said as well. He walked away, and she walked forward, trying to find her father. Mr. Gates guessed they were done and found Andromeda. On their drive back home, Andromeda was quiet, looking out the window.

Alice came in with Jasper behind her. She looked at Edward and shook her head, "Edward, you not only cheated on Bella, my best friend, but now I'm finding out that abused Andromeda? How could you?" she said.

Esme didn't say anything; she didn't know what to say. Edward looked at Carlisle, who was trying to soothe his wife, and looked down. Carlisle breathed in and then sighed, he walked to Edward and placed a hand on his shoulders, "You disappointed me Edward, we have to make this up for Andromeda…I expected more from you" he said quietly. He looked out the window, knowing he did not deserve Carlisle's calm reaction.

"I will never do anything like this to her again," Edward swore to himself and to his family. Carlisle nodded, "But we have to fix whatever damage there is" he said and left Edward at that. Esme still couldn't say anything and just shook her head.

"Hm, I knew it" Rosalie whispered from behind the kitchen counter. Deep inside her, Rosalie felt, perhaps, maybe a twinge of sympathy for Andromeda, but most of her sympathy was for Bella, whom was bound to find out, even if the affair had ended. "Rosalie, can you and Emmett do something for me?" Edward asked. They looked at him, confused, and Emmett nodded, "Give this to Andromeda for me, her birthday is the same day as the spring dance"

Andromeda entered her house and looked around, she smiled, she was relieved, she was heart broken, but finally, she was at peace. She picked up her younger sister and started playing with her. The sun set and she headed to work. She smiled more often, but there was a emptiness inside her that Edward once resided, but she ignored it, happy to be free from that sin. That night in her room, she cried, but for many reasons, because she no longer felt guilt, the demon was gone, but she also cried because she could never be in Edward's arms, but she cried, most importantly, because she was happy.

The dance was this Saturday, and she couldn't be any happier. She was going with Peter, who had been patient with her while she was with Edward. Mike was going with Jessica, which now Andromeda fully accepted, and Bella was going with Edward to Seattle. The performance was that week as well, what they were performing, The Phantom of the Opera, not one of her favorites, but a nice combination of singing and dancing, mostly singing one would have to admit.

"Hey, Andromeda!" a voice called out. Andromeda turned and saw it was Alice. Shane and Crystal looked at her then at each other. They knew Andromeda was no longer seeing Edward, though, they did not know why Alice would want to speak with Andromeda.

"Yeah, what's up?" Andromeda asked and Crystal laughed. "Our Annie's turning gangster now" she snickered. Andromeda laughed and shook her head, "How are you?" she said instead.

Alice laughed, "Fine, thank you, and I know you and Edward aren't together anymore, and Bella doesn't want to go to the dance, so…Can I dress you up?"

Andromeda was surprised, she has never been asked to be someone's dress up doll…it sounded like fun; "Sure, can you dress her up as well?" Andromeda said, pointing at Crystal. Crystal started picking her teeth to get a piece of pizza out, and smiled at Alice. Alice laughed again, "Sure, the more the merrier!"

Shane walked forward, "Wait, okay, I have to help" he cleared up and faced Alice, "Sweetie, you're beautiful, you're gorgeous, you dress well, you're Cullen, but I…I am a professional, an artist, and these girls" he pointed at all of the, including Alice, "Need me"

Alice folded her arms and looked at him, "Oh really? You think you're than me?" she asked.

"Please…I know" Shane replied. Alice smiled and nodded, "I like you, you're really cool" she said. They started talking about how they should be dressed and how they would dress Bella if she were going.

"They got along well" Andromeda noted. Crystal laughed and walked away with Andromeda. "You know, you're not going out with a Cullen anymore, yet, we're making friends with them anyway" Crystal said and Andromeda laughed, "Life always has a funny way of working out doesn't it?" Andromeda said.

Edward glanced at Andromeda from a distance, he heard her laugh, and he knew he was happy. He turned back to Bella and hugged her from behind, he remembered Andromeda would sometimes love when he did that, other times, scold him for it. The bell rung and every rushed to class.

That night was the opening night for the play, unfortunately it was thunderous night. Andromeda put on her costume which Shane had designed, originally it was meant for the actor playing Meg Giry, but Shane was so proud of it, he gave it to one of the opera house's dancer. Crystal was play Carlotta, a role which Andromeda thought was hilarious for Crystal to play. The ever so talented and beautiful Christine Daae, was to be played by the popular Lauren. Samantha, another girl, was Madame Giry. The phantom was played by Ryan, Crystal's boyfriend, and Raul was to be played by Ben.

While the play was going on, Bella and Edward were out on the fields, as one may know, getting ready for a game of good old American baseball. The first thunder, in a way, was the starting cue for both games. The play began, and the game began. The music in the play was from Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Andromeda danced for the scene where they were appointing a new owner of the Paris Opera house, and the actors and dancers were practicing. People didn't notice her dancing, and most direction was at the actors. She felt glad she was dancing in front of an audience anyway, she knew her family was out there, supporting her, and her little sister, bragging that she knew a real ballerina like one's in storybooks.

As the play continued, and now Christine Daae, actor Lauren, was on stage singing her solo, Think of Me, the field was going another direction. There was a coven of vampires coming their way, hearing the ball game. "We're sorry to interrupt, we heard a game" one of them said, "My name is Laurent, and behind me is Victoria and James"

Carlisle nodded, "This is my family, I am Carlisle, my wife Esme, my kids Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, Edward and Bella" he said. Bella was shocked to hear her name, but quite glad of it. "Do you think you have room for three more?" Laurent asked.

Carlisle looked at Edward, who was glaring at them protectively, "Yes, two of us were just leaving" Carlisle said and Edward began to walk away, while making sure Bella was safe. The wind blew a bit and suddenly James looked at Bella, "Oh, so you brought a snack" he said, his red eyes now looking more piercing than ever.

"Get ready for the next scene!" the director shouted. All of the actors quickly changed into new clothes for the next 'opera' and went out in stage to begin. This time, Andromeda was still on stage as entertainment while the people got ready. The dancers were now the main focus and received many smiles. Andromeda was the lead ballerina, even though it was only a small part of the show, she loved that moment. She did an Italian Fouette, and heard a small girl in the crowd, "Mommy, ballerina" the small child said. Andromeda could not see it, but on the little girl's lap was the story of the Nutcracker. The small entertainment ended and the actors were back on the stage, with Carlotta screaming about being starred on the next opera.

"I will do anything to protect you" Edward said to Bella. He had lost Andromeda, he refused to lose Bella. They went to Charlie's home, where Bella packed to leave, and left Charlie with the same words his ex-wife left him with. Charlie stood on the porch as Bella and Edward drove off. He went back inside and called her mother, Renee. Bella felt guilty, riding with Edward, though Edward couldn't read her mind, he knew. "It'll be fine" Edward tried to console. They passed a group of Bella's friends, heading to see the rest of the show at their school. Bella almost wanted to join them, instead of her life in peril, but she realized that she rather have in her life in danger and be with Edward than be completely safe and without him. And so, the hunt began.

"Annie, you were amazing!" Shane exclaimed and hugged Andromeda. Andromeda laughed and jumped up and down like child and Shane joined her. Andromeda walked to her bag and took out a few cans; she went outside on the halls and dropped the cans off at the donation box. She came back and saw Shane smiling, "What?" she asked.

"My little Virgin Annie" he said and hugged her.

"Thanks," she said and hugged him back, "That was supposed to be a compliment right?"

"Don't ruin the moment"

The play had ended and everyone went home, Andromeda came back with her bags and went straight to her room to relax. She saw a shadow outside her window move quickly and looked at it. She knew it wasn't human and locked her windows and put the curtains over them. She felt safer that way.

Bella was inside the hotel, while the rest were out looking for James. Edward would call every once in a while, but it was just her, Alice and Jasper. Alice saw something, it was James, he was trying to trace where Edward was and followed one of his scents, Andromeda. Alice took the phone and called Edward, "Edward, he's after Andromeda, he thinks she knows where you are" she whispered urgently.

"Why would he want to find out?" Edward wondered.

"Maybe so he knows where to take it from there" Alice replied.

Edward ran back towards Andromeda's house, he never imagined her getting tangled in this. He saw James jump up to the second story window where Andromeda's room was and he pushed him out of the way towards the woods. Andromeda turned, hearing them, she opened one of the curtains slightly and saw Edward standing there on the roof. She saw the other one come out of the forest and smile at, and quickly than one could blink, he disappeared.

Andromeda froze, she had no idea what just happened, but she opened the window to Edward. "What are you doing here? Who was that? And what just happened?" she asked Edward. Edward turned to her and looked at her in a way she hadn't seen for some time, and she missed it. He touched her cheek gently and she tilted her head towards his finger. "Edward, what happened?" she asked. He couldn't answer, "Bella's in danger, and I shouldn't be here, he knows where I am now" Edward said and stood up. He broke his swear, he let her see him, and she was happy without him there. He would have to start over, yet again.

Bella received a phone call, "Bella? Bella? Where are you? Bella!" she heard her mother say. "Mom!" Bella replied, scared. James's voice now took the phone instead of her mothers, "Charlie called your mom Bella, and she rushed here to see you. If you want to see you're mom again, then come here, to the ballet studio, and come here alone" he said and hung up alone. Bella then knew what she had to do, in an act of bravery, she went after James herself. A mistake that would almost cost her life, but she would die for Edward happily.

Andromeda eye's followed him as he ran off after James; she never wanted to be involved in such things, for they frightened her too much. She wished she could help Edward somehow, but she knew she was too much of a coward to do so; anyone would be, she figured, if they had to face other vampires which didn't appear so polite. She went to her computer and for some unknown reason typed up vampires.

The first result was the wikipedia page, the second, a gothic social networking website called VampireFreaks. She laughed at the social website, its logo: Gothic industrial Culture. Out of pure curiosity, she clicked on the website and saw around, it was way too depressing for her. She gave up on the search, but had to admit, she liked Dracula better than real vampires, at least Dracula could be defeated.

Bella ran to her old ballet Studio, urgent to see her mother who she believed James had captured. She looked around, "Mom? Mom!?" she yelled. Her mother's voice called to her again and she followed it. She soon found it was nothing more than a videotape; she turned and saw it was James, and he had tricked her. He pushed her on the ground and started recording her, so Edward would see Bella's final moments. He threw Bella against the mirrors and she felt her blood running down the back of her head.

Andromeda looked at the bar in her room, she didn't have mirrors like ballet studios did, but always wanted some. She picked up the house phone and thought about calling Crystal, who would have Jessica's number, who would have Bella's. She thought it over and decided it was useless to call Bella, and why would she need to? She was nothing more than a mere human, and the only thing she knew about Bella was that she was in danger. Also, she was barely acquainted with her, for Bella only took a bit of interest in her so she could see Edward's human friends. She hung up the phone, she hoped everything would just simply resolve itself; she didn't want to be a nuisance.

Bella screamed as she felt a burning sensation coming from the bite mark. Edward was already there, fighting against James. He looked at Bella with beyond frightened eyes, they were absolutely terrified. Edward pushed James off, sending him flying across the ballet studio. As Edward turned, he felt as if he was turning to Andromeda, going to watch her perform a dance. He was never tired of seeing her body move with grace, it was an art to the fullest definition. Instead he saw Bella, dying. He ran to her, never thinking a ballet studio would be the place where he saw the object of his affection die. Carlisle ran beside him while the rest of the clan fought James off. Tearing his body into pieces and starting a fire. "Edward, you're going to have to suck the venom out" Carlisle said. Edward fought against him, but decided he had to do it, to save Bella; he was going to have to be strong. Edward took her arm and began to suck the venom out, but he tasted her blood, and almost automatically became addicted. The blood tasted better than he had ever imagined, and at that moment, he didn't whether or not he could stop.

"Edward, that's enough, you're going to kill her" He heard Carlisle say. The voices sounded faint around him. He looked at Bella and saw her skin paling, she was dying. He shut his eyes and thought of Andromeda and her metallic blood, he thought of her dream, crushing her bones trying to protect her. In a way, perhaps Andromeda had that dream for Bella, for that was what he was doing, destroying Bella. He found the strength to let go and save Bella. He breathed out with relief and stopped breathing overall. He was glad Bella would live, and he was glad that he knew he had the strength to stop.

It had been a few days, and Bella was in the hospital. Andromeda, of course, was still safe at home, doing some of her homework but mostly spending time with friends and practicing her ballet. Bella's arrival after a few days excited and relieved everyone. They heard she had been in an accident, where she fell down a flight of stairs and out a window, however that could happen. Bella wore a cast on her leg, which embarrassed her to no end. No one would mind, it was for her health.

Andromeda sat outside her house, sitting on the almost never used porch. She was reading Romeo and Juliet, her favorite. It was Saturday, and tonight was the dance. Bella, as it turned out, was going, therefore only Shane would dress her and Crystal. She didn't really mind though. She looked at the calendar and smiled, it was her birthday. She looked back at the play in her hand, she knew Shakespeare was always considering women to be less than men, but she didn't mind, that was indeed their thinking during the Elizabethan Age.

"Hey Andromeda, what's up?" Mike said, walking by her house. She looked up and she felt her heart almost stop. She couldn't believe it was him, after all that time, forgetting about him, he suddenly made his way back into her mind. Andromeda smiled at him, "Nothing so far, just sitting and reading, waiting for tonight" she replied.

"You're going with Peter right?" Mike asked and she nodded. Mike smiled at her and she felt herself melt at the sight, "Heard Bella's going with Cullen, can you believe that?"

Andromeda was immediately shattered, of course, he was thinking about Bella. She looked down and nodded, trying to seem as cheerful as she could. She was over him, he hadn't been on her thoughts for weeks, she kept telling herself that, "Yeah, well, prettiest boy in school goes with prettiest girl…that's not family of course, it makes sense" she replied.

Mike shrugged, he was still annoyed that Bella chose Cullen over him, "See you later Andromeda, and also…" he began and she looked at him, "Happy birthday."

He had been the first one from school to say that, or even to remember. She smiled, "Thank you" she said. He waved and she waved back. Her old feelings towards him started to resurface. He had been paying so much attention to Bella lately, she had forgotten about the Mike she used to know. She was grateful Bella was now with Edward, for now Mike Newton, the one she knew, was back, and as kind to her as ever. All over again, she imagined him as her Romeo, but suddenly she remembered Edward. Then she found herself putting Mike as her Paris instead. She shook her head and remembered Peter, that should be her Romeo, but she couldn't see him that way. She had confused herself. She pushed the thoughts away and focused on reading the story, even without a definite Romeo, she still could imagine herself as Juliet.

The night arrived sooner than expected. Shane had worked on her and Crystal's make up and they put on their dresses. Shane wanted Andromeda's skin to glow, which the thought made her chuckle, recalling that Edward would sparkle in the sunlight. Crystal on the other hand, was in her computer, visiting a website where she had some online friends: VampireFreaks. Andromeda laughed as she saw her closest friend log into the website and talk with some of her friends about their schools gossip and hers.

"I wanna go too" Cat said, carrying a dress in her hand.

"She's so cute!" Shane exclaimed. Crystal awed while looking at Cat, "I think we should take her" she said. Andromeda smiled but shook her head, "I'm sorry Cat, but it's for older kids, we'll bring you next time" she said to the girl. Cat frowned and sat on Andromeda's bed, and just watched them get ready. Shane put on his suit and held out his arms for the ladies to take, "Now…shall we take our leave?" he asked.

"Yes, we shall" The girls replied at the same time and laughed. Cat followed them downstairs and was picked up by their father, who waved them off. The ride there was very loud; they took Shane's car that time. It was decided between Shane and Andromeda that pop music was more bearable than heavy metal.

They got to the dance and looked around; everyone seemed to be having fun. Crystal tapped on Andromeda's shoulder and made her turn, "Look, the star of the night" she said. She saw Bella come out wearing a blue dress, with the cast still on her leg. She looked stunning. Alice had dressed her and one had to admit, Alice could dress. Edward came out, wearing a black tux that made his skin appear paler than usual. Andromeda was mesmerized by him, perhaps by his beauty, but mostly because she just wanted to see him again. She smiled at Crystal and they turned to join the party. Andromeda found Peter and apologized about not being able to drive with him there.

"It's fine, I couldn't separate friends like that anyway" Peter said. Andromeda hugged him and gave him a small kiss. They began to dance together, and she looked to the side and saw Crystal was now with Ryan, and Shane was applauding outfits or looking sourly at them. She laughed and continued to enjoy herself.

"Hey, do you want a drink?" Peter asked.

"Sure, that'd be nice" Andromeda replied

"Okay, I'll go get us some drinks"

Andromeda nodded and looked around while waiting for him. She spotted Edward glancing at her occasionally and smiled at him. He began to walk outside with Bella. Bella looked back and saw Andromeda and smiled at her as well. Peter came with the drinks and looked at the other couple.

"You know Cullen, or Bella?" He asked.

"Both, they're in some of my classes" Andromeda replied simply. She was glad she didn't feel guilty that night, she knew she would enjoy this less if she had been.

Edward and Bella were outside, alone. They slow danced, with Edward leading them. Bella rested her head on his shoulders and just enjoyed the moment. "Bella" he began and she looked up at him, "I want to give Andromeda a little surprise, do you mind?" he asked. Bella, with the most trusting eyes anyone could ever imagine, nodded, "Sure, it's good you think about friends" she said. Edward gave her a kiss on the forehead and walked towards the inside, carrying something for Andromeda. He found her with Peter, they were just talking and drinking punch.

"Do you mind if I borrow her for a second?" Edward asked. Peter looked at him skeptically and nodded. "It's her choice" he replied. Andromeda smiled at him and looked at Edward, "Only for a second" she said for herself.

Edward led her to a less crowded part of the dance, and pulled out a box, "Happy Birthday, I wanted to give this for you, don't worry, I threw the copy away" he said. 'Copy?' she thought. She took the box and looked at it, it was a simple red box, big enough to hold maybe a bracelet or necklace; "Thank you" she said. She looked up at him, and suddenly felt his lips on hers. It didn't last long; he quickly pulled away and walked towards Bella. Andromeda hadn't fully forgiven him for all the things he's done to her, but a good bit was pardoned. She walked back to Peter and showed him the box, "What's inside?" he asked. She shrugged her shoulder, "I don't know" she replied.

She planned to open the box after the dance. Sometimes curiosity would get to her and she would start to open it, but she was fond of surprises, and didn't want to ruin this one. She distracted herself, dancing with Peter, or joking around with her friends. She had to learn to stop looking at the box.

The dance ended, and everyone was leaving the school grounds. For some reason, Bella seemed eager to leave. Andromeda didn't question it and looked around for Shane and Crystal. "Hey, we're going ahead without you, man candy over there will take you home" Shane said and hugged Andromeda.

"Have a goodnight Annie" Crystal said and went with Ryan.

"I'm all alone" Shane cried dramatically as he left school. Andromeda laughed and saw Peter walk towards her, "Ready?" he asked. She nodded and they stood up to go home. Halfway to his car she had forgotten something, "My gift, I left it!" she exclaimed and looked back.

"Alright, I'll wait for you here" Peter said

"Thank you so much" she said and hurriedly walked to the school. She went inside the gym where the dance was and looked around, 'Did someone take it?' she thought.

"Right here" she heard a voice say.

She looked up and saw Edward holding out the gift, "I thought you rejected it, so I was coming back here to get it, but I heard you just forgot" he explained. Andromeda nodded, "I don't like to throw away gifts" she said. She took the box and she felt him touching her shoulder. She looked up and shook her head, "Don't touch me like that, it's uncomfortable" she said. Edward nodded and put his hand down. They stood there, awkwardly, none of them knew what to do or say. 'Just leave, you can do it, move your feet' she thought, looking down. Edward found his promise easier to break than he thought, he wanted her to be happy, and he knew he had to be gone for her to be so.

"I'll be going" he said, and started walking. Andromeda sighed and turned to walk out as well, "Andromeda" he said. She stopped and looked at him; he looked like he was struggling. She felt his arms around her, that's when she figured out, he was embracing her. She rested her head against his chest and heard no heartbeat. He traced the outline of her spine, which made her shiver, and kissed her shoulder.

"Do you still love me?" he asked.

'Yes' she thought, "No"

"I can't stop thinking about you" he whispered, "I've tried…with the best of my ability I tired"

He kissed her. They both felt that demon arrive once more, guilt. Edward pulled Andromeda towards him, deepening the kiss. It was dumb luck that no one was watching them, usually, in a small town; somebody's eyes were always watching you. They parted and Andromeda caught her breath, the demon was screeching in her ear, while Edward's touch was making her heart pound. They joined their lips once again. Edward heard her heart beat, it was the most beautiful melody he had ever had the pleasure listening too. He thought of Bella, waiting outside for him, while he betrayed her right underneath her nose, he then thought of Andromeda, he couldn't live without her. It had only been a few days, perhaps weeks, and it was more than he could bear.

Once again they had started their once disintegrated affair. They parted, Andromeda needing breathe again. Edward began to kiss her neck and jaw, and soon found a way back to her lips. Their dumb luck had run out, and now there were a pair of eyes on them.

"I was wondering what was taking you so long" the voice said.

Edward immediately separated from Andromeda at the sound of the voice. They looked at the figure, and Andromeda began to tremble, while Edward's jaw locked. "…Peter" she whispered.

* * *

**For those of you who thought it was really over for a while...that's not the way a drama rolls XD**

**This was basically the end of the first book, and now with the second book coming along, don't worry, I'm going to change plenty of things so it won't really be that much of a spoiler. plus, the second book is about...nothing XD**

**So tell me what you guys think? I accpet negative and positive opinions as well as critiques, but please, no flames. Quite honestly, this wasn't one of my favorite chapters.**

**THanks for reading!**


	10. Caught

**Chapter 10 now I think. It's been a while since I've updated huh? Don't worry, I'm not giving up on this story for those of you who like it. **

**I apologize for my slow updates, and hope the next one will be faster. Sad part was the last part of the last chapter was my favorite XD Well, now it's the continuation. This is kinda right before the begginning of Book Two: New Moon, and takes place from a few weeks before Bella's birthday, up to the day of Bella's birthday.**

**This new part of the story, as you may know from the book, won't have a lot of Edward and a lot more Bella. I've got plenty of things planned out :)**

**Disclaimer: Twilight does not belong to me**

* * *

Peter simply smiled and nodded, "Don't let me stop you, take your time" he said. He turned and began to walk away. Andromeda ran to him and suddenly grabbed his arm, which surprised even her, "Peter…" she began

"What? You can explain? Alright, go. Please, I'm begging you; explain why you, my supposed girlfriend, were just making out with another guy while I was outside in the cold waiting for you. Do you have any idea how selfish that was! If you were going to play tonsil hockey with some other guy then why the hell did you feel the need to accept me as your boyfriend! Hell, why feel the need to go with me to this dance in the first place!" He yelled, getting loud.

Andromeda shook her head and looked down, "I can't explain, but I do care about you"

"You have a really funny way of showing that"

He began to walk to his car, easily getting out of Andromeda's grip. She looked up at him as he walked away, and covered her face. She wanted the cold to numb her and just simply take away all the guilt she had. She wanted that burning in her eyes to go away as they worked up tears. Edward walked closer to Peter and called out to him. "Look at her, if you really cared about her, if you really did feel something for her, then look at her and tell me you're okay with it" Edward said, suddenly demanding.

Peter stopped and glanced at Andromeda. His eyes softened at her crying and ashamed form, and he looked down. He wanted to forget what he saw, that much was true, but the image just repeated in his mind over and over again. He truly did care about her, but that image kept reminding him that his love was one-sided. He looked back towards her, "Annie" he said. She looked up, her eyes and nose red. "I love you." With that he continued walking and soon drove off, trying not to let tears blur his vision as he drove through the cold weather.

Andromeda stood there, completely motionless. It wasn't the cold that had done it, but at least now she felt numb. She managed to take a step forward, but didn't really feel her step being taken. Edward was at a loss of what to do, and would've embraced her if not for the voice that had broken the silence.

"Edward? What's taking you so long?" Bella asked, looking at the frozen Andromeda and back at Edward. For a moment in her mind started to doubt Edward's loyalty, it had never occurred to her that maybe Edward had been unfaithful. She quickly pushed it aside, the thought becoming too painful to bear.

Edward looked towards Bella, and saw she was standing in the cold without a jacket. He also noticed Andromeda cold without a jacket as well, having to walk home since she Shane had taken her car, Crystal had gone with Ryan, and Peter, who was her ride, had left. Edward walked to Andromeda and gave her his coat jacket. She didn't feel him putting it on her, and didn't notice Bella was near them.

He didn't know what to say, and he walked to Bella. There was a sharp pain in his chest, as if someone had struck his heart, and he was finding it harder to walk. Andromeda had been caught cheating; now Peter had broken up with her, left her in the cold, at night, having to walk home. It was only right that this would happen; after all, those who are unfaithful deserve a punishment that fits the gravity of their act.

He walked Bella back to the truck and for the first time, drove at a normal speed to her house. He promised Bella to see her the next day, and refused to kiss her, due to his memory of her blood. She entered her house, and Edward began walking to his. He didn't want to run; there was no hurry, for he had until the end of time to think about his past mistakes.

Andromeda walked to her house slowly, knowing she was moving, but not truly feeling it. Peter's words kept repeating themselves in her head, and each time they grew louder, with more accusation in them. She saw a bright light ahead of her and looked up, she couldn't tell if it was going to run her over or stop, but either way she didn't care, she deserved it.

The car stopped and Thomas had stepped out of the car. Eliza stepped out as well and ran to Andromeda. "Where were you!?" her mother cried, "I was so scared." Andromeda didn't reply and let her mother hug her. She has happy to be back in mommy's arms and she cried. "What happened?" her mother asked and waved Thomas to help Andromeda get in the car.

They were on the driveway and Andromeda had not stopped crying. Her father helped her out and she noticed a red Ferrari in front of their yard. She looked at it for a while, "Edward got it for your birthday," Eliza informed softly.

Andromeda looked down at the small box Edward had given and opened it. There was a key inside, that obviously was meant for the Ferrari. She closed the box and handed it to her mother, who took it and put it in her purse.

Andromeda held the key and walked over to the Ferrari. She opened it a small letter to her, and it was from Edward. She put the key in the ignition, and left it there. She closed the car, well knowing if any teenager walked by, he could take it if he wanted. They went inside and Andromeda threw the jacket aside, maybe she should get a dog so maybe he would chew it up.

She got to the upstairs game room and picked up the phone. She called Peter's cell phone number, but he didn't pick up, she didn't expect him to. "Peter" she said, leaving a voicemail, "I really want to talk to you, please call me." She dialed his private phone he had in his room, but again, no one picked up. "If you're there…please pick up. I'm so sorry Peter, please, please; I don't want to be without you. Please Peter, I'll tell you everything" she tried not to, but ended up crying on the phone.

Peter sat on his desk chair, listening to the message. He didn't want to know the whole story, he didn't want to know why she had been unhappy with him, he didn't want to know but he knew that she had been unfaithful to him since they began dating. He only wanted to know one thing. He picked up the phone, and waited until her cries calmed down. "Why did you do it?" he asked.

She shook her head, "I don't know, I should've stopped and I did--"

"I meant why did you even bother having me as your boyfriend in the first place?"

She paused and began crying once more. "I was being selfish" she admitted, "I'm just a bitch that didn't want to be lonely when he left me for another girl and found a new boy to drag him into it and make the other one jealous"

"So that was my job" Peter scoffed, "Make your Eddie jealous"

She didn't bother to disagree, that was her first motive. "Things changed" she whispered. She thought back at the time when they were talking, how easy it was with him. He always treated her so well, he always gave her an option on everything, he never once forgot about her. "I fell in love with you" she finished.

He stayed silent for a moment, hearing those words. He shook his head and pulled back his hair, "I don't want anymore lies, Andromeda"

She was taken back by his use of her full name but pushed the detail aside. "I do love you, and I love Edward too, I'm not going to lie to you and say that I don't love him because I do, but I love you in a way I could never love him" This statement was true, in a way. She loved them both differently. She loved Edward with all of her being, she loved how he would listen to her, while with Peter he did the talking, how he would constantly hold her and tell her he loved her, how he would sing to her since her voice sounded broken, how despite his cold body, every time they touched she felt this warmth spread throughout her body, and every kiss made her heart leap, and electricity run through her veins.

She loved Peter as well, his warm body embracing hers in a tight hug she felt safe in, without the worries of being crushed. How he would kiss almost every part of her face before reaching her lips, how he lifted her up so she could be could be dominant, how he would run a hand down her spine, and surprise her neck as she instinctively turned. "If you want…we could…" she began, not knowing how to put it into words.

Peter began to realize what she was implying, and he hitched his breath. His heartbeat began to quicken and he began to wonder if he could control how it was reacting. She took a deep breath, "You could have me" she finished.

"You mean…sex?" he asked, unable to believe what she was willing to do. She bit her lip before answering and finally did so, "Yes."

Edward knew he shouldn't have been intruding, but he no longer cared as he realized the kind of turn the conversation was taking. He balled his hands into fist, it took everything in his strength not to break into her house and make her swear she wouldn't do such a stupid thing, 'At least' he thought, 'Not with him.'

Peter looked around his room and at the computer monitor in front of him. "No" he finally decided, "Annie, that's not going to make anybody feel better and especially not me. You can't just offer yourself up like that just because you're guilty"

"I'm not doing this because I'm guilty, even though I am, I'm doing this because I want to" Andromeda replied.

Peter was now in conflict. If he hadn't seen her with Edward, he would've been like any other teenage boy and jumped at the opportunity, but the fact of the matter is that he knew she loved Edward, thus creating a possibility of making everything a giant mistake to regret later. His hormonal side was telling him to accept, while his conscious kept fighting on telling him they would both regret it later. "I don't know, I'll have to think about it"

Andromeda looked down and started playing with the ends of her shirt, nervous. She swallowed, she had no idea what she was doing, or at least she had no idea of the seriousness of it, "You know, a lot of boys wouldn't think about it" she said, relieved that he was going to consider and postpone.

"They would if they caught their girlfriends making out with another guy" he replied, "I have to go." He hung up and leaned back on his chair. The image returned of her and Edward in the gymnasium, and he felt like he was punched in the gut. He then imagined her taking off her clothes and pressing herself against him. He could feel her lips on his, despite it only imagined. He soon found himself having to go to the bathroom.

He had been outside Peter's house, he saw everything. He unintentionally pulled out a part of tree he was beside, leaving the trunk in half. The thought sickened him, and he wanted to kill Peter for even thinking about her that way. When he could no longer bear to listen to her thoughts, he went to Peter's house, and saw this from him. Edward was more than angry, he was angry at himself, and he was angry at Andromeda, and he was unjustly infuriated at Peter.

Andromeda's heart beat quickened, she didn't know if she could pull through with it. She knew she had said she wanted it, but in truth, she was too scared to even think about it. There were so many questions: would it hurt? Will it feel awkward afterwards? Where would it happen? Will we break up because of it? She read so many things from newspapers and magazines, and had no idea what to believe.

"Don't do it" she heard a voice say. She turned around and saw Edward, perched on her window, "Swear to me you won't"

"I'm not promising anything" she replied, trying to be brave and appear to know what she was doing.

"I know all your doubts, Andromeda" he said, and she remembered he could read her thoughts, "Don't do this to yourself for that bastard" He sounded bitter, angry; "You have no idea what he's thinking"

"That's the way it's supposed to be," she said, still fearing what he meant though, "If Peter wants to then I will"

She was suddenly pinned down on the bed by Edward, "You won't" he said slowly.

She chuckled dryly, "Is it because you want me first?"

He didn't reply, and just kept staring down at her. Her body started to tremble as she realized what his silence meant: yes. He leaned down and kissed her neck and jaw. Her heartbeat quickened and she put one leg shyly against his waist. He pressed his lips against hers and ran his hand down her upper body. "You're selfish" she whispered, as he went back to her neck.

"So are you" he replied, nipping at the curve of her neck. She couldn't deny that, she was selfish, she didn't like sharing him with Bella, and it broke her heart to think about it. He got off her and went towards the window, "You won't" and with that he departed.

She breathed in deeply and held her breath. She felt she had an irregular heartbeat, though it was fine. She wanted to tell Shane and Crystal, but she didn't know how they would act. She decided she wasn't going to think about and confront the problem later. She stood up and began stretching; it was the only thing she knew could take her mind off things.

-

Weeks had passed since that night. Peter had avoided Andromeda for many days, and she was found crying many times. Edward, on the other hand, was reading Peter's and Andromeda's mind constantly, wanting to know if Andromeda had gotten better, and if the low life had accepted her offer. Peter, despite being in conflict over that, had managed to forgive Andromeda and was now with her once more.

Edward was spending more time with Bella, he did not kiss her as much as he kissed Andromeda, nor did he kiss her as freely as he kissed Andromeda. He wanted to, but she posed a higher threat, therefore should be handled more carefully.

He wished Bella's blood wasn't as enticing as it was, so he would be able to show his affections for her more freely without the worry of killing her. He was in Bella's house, and she was cooking something for Charlie so when he came from work later on. Bella put down the knife and looked towards Edward, "Almost done" she said.

He gave her a half smiled that she almost melted at. He lightly chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. She couldn't help but stare at his sculpted chest and strong arms. She ran her fingers down his chest and felt her cheeks redden up. He was so beautiful that she had no idea why he had chosen her.

He lifted her chin up and stopped her gazing. He brushed his lips against hers, holding his breath and soon separating. "Why don't you kiss me Edward?" Bella asked.

"I only wish" he replied

"You're not going to hurt me"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that" If Edward didn't hurt her physically, then emotionally was always there. He gave in and kissed her. For a moment he closed his eyes and pretended she was Andromeda, so that he could kiss her deeply. Soon though, her scent intoxicated him and pushed himself away, he wouldn't try that again, it was a mistake.

Bella felt disappointed, but she breathed deeply; that was the longest Edward had kissed her. "What are we going to do today again?" Bella asked, his presence, his scent, his beautiful face, and his kiss all keeping her from thinking straight. Edward chuckled, amused by her.

Andromeda found that no one had bothered to steal the red Ferrari and was now using it. It was a present, and no point in letting a super expensive sports car go to waste in the front of the driveway.

"Use it, return it, or donate it to me" her father said, looking at the car. She laughed and decided to use it. She drove to Shane's house where they agreed to meet, they were there waiting for the surprise she promised them. Crystal was the first to scream and Shane soon followed.

"Oh my God!" Crystal exclaimed, Andromeda pulling in driving the Ferrari. "Where did you get this!?"

"Someone catch me because I'm about to pass out!" Shane said, using his hand as a fan.

Andromeda laughed as they immediately looked inside the car. "I got it for my birthday…Edward" she didn't have to explain much, they understood.

"I know he's an asshole and a two-timer, but I'm in no place to mock his taste" Shane said, feeling the seats.

Crystal on the driver's seat and grabbed the wheel, "This is awesome!" she exclaimed. She looked out the window and smiled at Andromeda, "If you ever get pissed off at him, call me, we will castrate the bastard and if you never want to see this car again I will take it off your hands"

"I swear, I'm this close to proposing to the car" Shane said.

Andromeda laughed, she was glad her friends were such drama queens. "Turn it on" Andromeda said. Crystal gladly turned the key and the engine roared. Both Shane and Crystal jumped ecstatically in car and turned on the radio, which blared out and soon got angry yells from neighbors.

They all went laughing inside and started throwing pillows at each other from Shane's couch. Shane's mother came in and pointed at the window, "Annie, is that your car?" she asked. Andromeda nodded and showed her the key. "Oh my goodness, if you ever get tired of it you know where to drop it off."

Andromeda laughed and nodded, "Okay Mrs. Palatto"

She left and looked at Shane expectantly. Shane nodded and faced the girls. "Well," he began, "I called a meeting today to announce…I have a boyfriend!" Both the girls exclaimed at the same time, and started asking questions without breathing. "Okay, okay, calm down." Shane started explaining everything to them.

He didn't leave off any details, even the ones that made them giggle because the thought of two guys humored them. He waved them off and continued his story. "So, did he ask you out or was it you?" Crystal asked.

"It was him, please, I don't ask" Shane said, looking proud.

"I didn't Heath was gay" Andromeda said

Shane shrugged, "I guess he decided to come out of the closet"

"He sounds very sweet to you" she added and looked down. Shane sense what was wrong and sighed.

"Sweetie, you're not a bad girlfriend. Yes, okay, you cheated on him, but at least you weren't like some bitches and said that it was all the other guys fault and they were just victims"

"I should've been like that; maybe he wouldn't be avoiding me like the plague"

"He's just confused," Crystal said, "He doesn't hate you, he even forgave you"

"But it's different now, he doesn't call like he used to, he almost never kisses me, and I only see him in school, nothing's like what it used to be"

"I don't want to be mean" Shane said and Andromeda looked at him, "But, yes I'm gay, but I'm still a guy, and it hurts guys to be cheated on the same it hurts girls. He's in pain, and you told us he loved you, which was obvious, have you ever thought that maybe every time he sees you, he remembers that day?"

The thought had crossed her mind a few times, but she wanted to forget that night ever happened, and hoped Peter would forget it too. "It doesn't matter, I'm making this all about me, and so Heath doesn't hold your hands in the hall?" Andromeda asked.

"No," Shane replied, "His parents are super Christians that hate 'homosexuals', I'm just going out with him, but let's get real, he's probably going to end up marrying a girl."

"That's terrible" Crystal said, eating some popcorn, "Did he tell them?"

"Of course not, I can't imagine what they would do to him if he did tell them he was gay, or as they put it, 'possessed'"

"Maybe he could just break it to them slowly or something, I don't think parents would just treat their kid, even teenagers, badly just because of something he had no control over" Andromeda suggested.

Crystal and Shane sighed, and sat down next to her. "Annie, I hate to break it to you, but not all parents are like yours" Shane said, and Crystal nodded.

"If you told your parents you were a lesbian then they'd be angry for like a whole two minutes and then be cool with it. It'd be awesome if every parent was like that, but they're not, and the truth is that Heath might get hurt if he did tell them," Crystal said

"Even if they don't beat him with a stick or something, they could still kick him out of their house, or take him out of school"

Andromeda nodded and looked down at her lap. She always heard of sob stories like those, even from Crystal, whose father left her family when she was ten. She has always felt some sympathy for them, but knew it was never any true sympathy, for a part of her mind was silently thankful that it wasn't her and her family that had been hit with tragedy. "Shane…" she said, "does he ever get scared?"

Shane nodded, "Everyone does"

She drove to the restaurant where she had work and did a worse job than usual that day. She messed up a total of three orders and delivered meals to the wrong table. She now had to sit down with the manager after several complaints from the customer, this was her first time in trouble, so she hoped it wouldn't be bad.

"This isn't like you" the manager said, sounding sympathetic

"I know, I have a lot on my mind" Andromeda replied.

"Boyfriend trouble?" Luckily, the manager was a woman not to much older than Andromeda. She was unmarried, but currently in a relationship with a Trigonometry teacher from the high school.

Andromeda nodded, "Yeah"

"I understand" she said, "Look, I'm not going to fire you for this one slip up, just make sure you don't have any others. I know your parents and I know you're a good girl, who needs to work a little harder on school"

She smiled and let Andromeda go, the good thing about small towns is that everyone knew each other; the bad thing was that everyone knew too much. Andromeda let out a deep sigh and drove back to her house, and finally got there at nine. She looked in the pantry for a snack and instead got a surprise.

"Mom!" Andromeda yelled and immediately Mrs. Gates sprung up from her seat.

"What's wrong? Did you and Peter break up? Did Edward hurt you? Did you gain a pound?" she asked frantically.

"No" Andromeda replied, coming out with a bag of bread, "But mom, look" she held up the bag and pointed at the title of it.

"Well what's wrong with it?" Mrs. Gates asked, relieved it was something stupid.

"You can't see it? It's not wheat bread. It's bad enough I eat bread with all the carbs it has, but I can't eat white bread too, that has carbs and fat, why do we have this?"

Her mother sighed and took the bag from her, "Stop being so spoiled Annie, your sister wanted it, she's tired of wheat and for her age, I'd say she has the right to be." She put the bread back in the cabinet and took out the peanut butter. She opened the fridge and got the celery and carrots out as well. She handed them to Andromeda, "Now, don't scare like that unless someone's bleeding, dying, or having a heart attack"

"Well, I might have a heart attack if I eat peanut butter" Andromeda said, putting the jar down. Her mother smiled and shook her head. She went back to the living room until she heard Cat crying and was redirected to the small nursery.

Andromeda took out two celery sticks and went up to the game room. She called Crystal, bored, wanting to leave off the stack of homework for later. "Hey" she said, "Any drama with anyone?"

"I thought you'd never ask" Crystal replied, "Okay, you know how Mike likes Bella but Bella's going out with Edward, and Jessica likes Mike, so she's all anti-Bella with Lauren because Tyler liked Bella too?"

"…Yes" Andromeda replied, already getting lost

"Well, Mike ditched Jessica, and Tyler still won't go out with Lauren, and they heard about you and Edward and how your class thinks you might secretly be going out with him. So they're asking Michelle, the girl in history, that next time you do something touchy with Edward to take a picture of it so they can show Bella at the next pep rally"

"What!? I didn't want this to include me!"

"Relax, because that plan was totally bombed when Mike had an argument with Jessica about leaving Bella alone. He was also defending you, but the point is, Jessica is going out with this other guy, trying to get Mike jealous, and Lauren is so angry for letting Mike get to Jessica that she's flirting with him so she gets on Jessica's nerve and gets her to be all anti-Bella again"

"She stopped being anti-Bella?"

"For like a whole two minutes, and maybe Bella would notice that if she wasn't all googly eyed with Eddykins all the time"

"She can't help it, she really likes him"

"What does she like the most? His sexy abs? Gorgeous eyes? Beautiful smile? The only thing I ever see her do is have eye sex with Edward, not like you who has actual sex"

"I never had sex with him!"

"You want to, everybody wants to! Look at him!"

Andromeda scoffed, and shook her head. "Whatever, I didn't sleep with him okay"

Crystal laughed on the other line, and it became noticeable she was eating something again. Andromeda always wondered how she could eat so much and never gains a single pound; she concluded she was one of the few with the gift. "Right, I almost forgot you were little virgin Annie"

"Thanks…I guess?"

"Don't ruin the moment"

They kept talking for about two more hours and soon Shane joined in the conversation, talking about Heath and his day with him. Andromeda soon hung up the phone and went to the study downstairs to do her homework. 'It's still Saturday, I'll do this tomorrow' she thought and went up to her room.

She saw a letter on her bed and picked it up; it was from her mother, saying that she got her ballet teacher to convince some people in Seattle to let her audition for a part in their next Ballet. She shot out of the room and went to Cat's room where she showed her mother the letter and received a nod.

"Are you serious?! I can't believe this! Thank you so much!" Andromeda exclaimed, and hugged Mrs. Gates. Cat soon started jumping up in down on her bed too and received a glare. She sat down again and smiled. "When is the audition?" she asked

"It'll be a while, your instructor wants you to attend twice a week though to get you ready. She'll give you details" Mrs. Gates said and walked out of the room.

Andromeda went back to her room, too excited to think about sleeping despite it being midnight. She thought about calling Peter but decided not to. She went to get ready for bed and soon came out to see Edward already reading the card. She took it from him, glaring. "Can't you ever stop breaking into my house?"

He shrugged and smiled, "Congratulations" he said. She smiled and put the card away in a shelf. He noticed she was just wearing a loose shirt with no sleeves that showed her belly button and pants that slipped down every once in a while. "You should cover yourself up better"

"Well, I'm going to sleep, and I'm usually alone when I do that" she replied. She was preoccupied with the trivial thing of her ballet slippers beginning to break and her having to buy new ones, which upset her since she didn't like getting new slippers.

Edward put his hands on her bare waist and started sliding up until he reached her ribs. She pushed his hands away and he chuckled. He laughed at her thought of being uncomfortable with that gesture, "If you thought that was bad, you should see what Peter's thinking about"

She never thought Peter would think that way about her and rolled her eyes, "It doesn't matter" she tried to convince herself, "He wouldn't do anything."

"He's keeping away from you trying not to"

She looked at him, curiosity with a bit of fear in her eyes. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, but she did know what he wanted. Edward nodded, answering her question to whether if what she thought was right. "Bella's birthday is tomorrow right?" Andromeda asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Yeah, I made her a CD, she doesn't accept shiny new cars" Edward said, smiling. "By the way, do you like yours?"

She nodded and sat down on her bed, "So far," she replied. "That was sweet of you to make her a CD"

He got down in front of her and gave her a small kiss, "I would've preferred to buy her something"

Andromeda shrugged, "Fine, but it's a lot more meaningful to make something and remind her she's worth your time." She remembered something and decided to ask him if he wanted to come along.

He already knew what she was going to ask him, but let her ask it anyway. "Do you want to go to the café in Port Angeles that packages food for the homeless with me?" she asked. He kissed her hand and wrist and declined, "It's Bella's birthday, I can't" he reminded.

She nodded, understanding, but still hurt by the rejection. She stood up and got in her bed, "I'm going to sleep, so leave" she said. He chuckled and stood up. He began to walk to the window until her voice interrupted him, "Can you turn off the lights on your way out?" she asked. He smiled and did so.

She fell asleep quickly enough, and started dreaming soon after. Edward stayed a while longer, wanting to see the dream, even just the beginning. He didn't like the dream though; it was more of a nightmare. She had chosen Peter, and was marrying him while Edward already seemed to be married to Bella. His face eventually blurred and it was just her and Peter, Romeo and Juliet.

He left, refusing to see anymore. It was emptier in Bella's room, unable to see her dreams, he just listened to her speak. She was, for some reason, whispering something about old age. He remembered her fears about aging and just held her hand. He saw her wake up and kissed her forehead, "Happy Birthday" he said and she groaned.

* * *

**That's all for now I guess. There's one thing I have to clarify though:**

**This is rated Teen (if I set it right), and therefore it is going to have situations that happen in a high school. That means, that I'm not going to fluff it up. One thing I disagreed about Twilight was that the high school was very...how do I say this? Censored. If you're in high school, then you know about the type of things that really go on in there that Twilight doesn't mention. **

**Don't get me wrong, nothing graphic, even I can't handle that XD**

**I just wanted to give that warning, I'm pretty sure I rated this correctly since it doesn't have mature themes or graphic descriptions of violence, gore, or "it". I hope you're enjoying the story so far though, and you keep on reading to see how it ends (which I have finally decided). **

**So tell me what you think so far: Bella or Andromeda? Peter or Edward?**

**Thanks for Reading!**

**Plz Review, Critique, or Give advice, but please, no flames.**


	11. Gone

**Long time no see :) **

**Yes, I'm actually still continuing this story, and I want to thank everyone who has reviewed it so far. I love to hear from all of you and all your opinions. Currently, I am working on chapter 12, which I am enjoying writing. :D **

**I hope you guys keep reading and sorry for taking so long, This story isn't over yet.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight**

* * *

Andromeda woke up as well, and looked around. As always, no one was there, or so she thought. There was something shifting underneath her sheets and she, sighing, uncovered it to reveal a hiding Cat. Cat smiled at her and settled herself on Andromeda's lap, "It's Bella's birthday! Daddy told me."

"I know," Andromeda replied, still tired.

Cat went on to tell Andromeda about how Thomas was going with Charlie to help get Bella a present. Since their dad has two girls, Charlie thought it was a good idea inviting him to come. That would also give their parents an opportunity to buy something for Bella. "And, let's go watch cartoons," Cat said and hopped off.

"They're already gone?" Bella asked. Cat nodded and raced downstairs towards her play room. Andromeda groaned and fell back on the bed, she had to baby sit Cat today. She went downstairs with her sister and saw she was already watching Dora the Explorer. "I thought you were over Dora," Andromeda said.

Cat nodded and looked back at her, "I am, I'm waiting for Fairly Odd Parents, Cosmo's my favorite."

"Right."

It was obvious that Cat still enjoyed Dora the Explorer, probably Go Diego Go as well. Andromeda couldn't blame her, she was still a little girl, she was only trying to act big. It was reasonable, she guessed, that a little girl would want to act bigger if the only sibling she had was eighteen years old. Andromeda thought of Cat while Cat was singing the Map song. She was such a sensitive age, four going on five, and she looked up to Andromeda, and height wasn't the reason why.

Andromeda looked down, somewhat ashamed. What kind of example was she setting for her little sister? Should she even care for her age? Sure, in T.V it's easy to make it seem like a big sister's decisions have no impact on siblings, but this wasn't T.V, it was real life. Cat had already seen her and Edward, is that what she wants her little sister to see from her? Will that have an impact on Cat later in the future? Does she think it's okay?

She shook her head and just watched Dora with Cat, hoping to take her mind off things.

Dora the Explorer ended and Fairly Odd Parents started playing after four minutes of commercials. She felt stupid for thinking so, but she kind of envied Timmy Turner, he had Cosmo and Wanda there to make his situations bearable. Anything he wished for he could have, and all he needed was to say a few words and a problem he caused could be solved in a matter of twenty-one minutes.

Not to mention A.J and Chester, who somehow were always Timmy's best friends despite Timmy ignoring them most of the time. She thought it was funny how Chester seemed to have a harder life than Timmy, yet he got no fairy god parents. He lived in a trailer filled with rats, was constantly bullied, on top of that he's experienced Vicky before, so why is he unworthy to get god parents? It was dumb, but Andromeda knew that most people with problems were Chesters, they weren't special enough to get help, so they have to solve it on their own.

Great, she just confused herself watching a children's show. Andromeda stood up and went to the kitchen, tired of making cartoon analogies and feeling sorry for herself. She needed to get over it. Edward was always choosing Bella over her, and he would always choose Bella over her. Then again, she was choosing Peter over him, at least she thought she was.

The phone rang and Andromeda picked it up expecting it to be her mother or father, surprisingly enough, it was Mike. She froze, unable to believe what she was hearing, her first Romeo, the Romeo she'd been dreaming about since she was in elementary. "Hey," she finally replied, a bit shaky.

"Oh good, I almost thought you were ignoring me," Mike said, chuckling a bit.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I'm babysitting my sister and she's playing cartoons."

"That makes sense, how is Catherine anyway?"

"She's fine, calmer than usual though, kinda scary."

Mike laughed and she swore she felt her heart skip a beat. She shook her head, frustrated, she'd think after everything this year, going out with Peter, having an affair with Edward, getting caught…failing Calculus, that she'd be over Mike by now, but somehow, Mike still managed to make her heart race.

Mike seemed quiet now, like there was something he wanted to ask but was too afraid to do. "Annie…I was wondering…You know how it's Bella's birthday today? Well, maybe, we can go together to get her a present. You know, since you're a girl you should have an idea right?"

'No,' Andromeda thought. She was annoyed at how some boys always grouped all girls together, but what could she expect, Mike didn't have any female siblings. "Um…I'm going to this shelter today, but afterwards, sure I can come."

She wondered for a moment what she was going to do with Cat while she was at the shelter and helping Mike out…this is why she barely volunteered anymore. She changed her mind, volunteer work is fun, and it's nice to help people, on top of that it's looks good on college applications. She remembered the old woman she spoke with and decided she would go ahead with the shelter.

"Okay, so we're on?" Mike asked

"Yeah, we're on," she replied, smiling. Technically, it was still a date for her.

They spoke a bit more about small things and she hung up and looked at Cat. Cat seemed to have change the channel from Fairly Odd Parents to the Bear in the Big Blue House, a show she understood more. Andromeda giggled and walked over to the playroom. She picked Cat up and set her on the couch. "Hey Kitty, do you want to go shopping with me today and this boy from school?"

"Is it Edward?" she asked, playing with her hair.

"No, it's Mike, Mike Newton."

She smiled, which told Andromeda she's heard of him before. She jumped up and down on the couch and nodded. Andromeda sent her to get dressed and went to get dressed herself. After she was done applying the last of her make up, she went over to Cat to check on how she was doing. She made sure not to put too much make up on, considering she had to go to the shelter first.

Cat seemed to be choosing between three outfits. Andromeda quickly went over and picked one up for her and put it on her. Cat complained the entire time, saying Andromeda was being too mean. Andromeda apologized but nevertheless tried to hurry. She brushed the girl's hair and put on her shoes for her.

Cat was happy over all; she got to ride in the red car. Cat jumped into the Ferrari and looked around, never being in the car before. They drove over to Port Angeles, where on the way, Andromeda scheduled her outing with Mike. She also called Peter to make sure he knew and invited him along, but he refused. Peter didn't find a threat in Mike, he knew Mike liked Bella way to much to consider Andromeda seriously. Andromeda knew this as well, which is why she figured Peter would be okay with it.

Meanwhile, Cat simply drew on the windows and constantly asked Andromeda to change the radio station. Andromeda got her a kids meal from McDonalds since she kept screaming about it, and she also had to request a specific toy for the girl.

They finally got to the shelter and Andromeda let Cat play in the playground with the other kids and her toys. She went in and was assigned serving the food. Every once in a while, she went out, and checked on Cat. Cat usually stayed in the same place, but the third time she went out, Cat wasn't there.

Andromeda looked around, "Cat?" she called. No reply. She started walking around the playground, "Cat?" she called out louder. It wasn't like her sister to walk off anywhere without asking permission. Knowing this scared her, "Cat!" she screamed. It didn't take long for curiosity to become worry, and worry to become panic. "Cat!" she screamed louder, frantic now.

She went in and spoke with one of the older people there. They went out and helped search for Catherine, which they could not find. Andromeda forgot about the work and ran through the streets trying to find her sister. "Cat!" she yelled, crying now. She went into every store she imagined Cat would take interest in, but nothing was there.

She had no idea what do now, she was scared. She picked up her phone and did the only thing she could think off, she called her parents. Her father answered, and he knew something was wrong. "Dad, she's missing, I can't find her!" Andromeda started to yell.

"Who? Who's missing?" her father asked, getting frantic himself.

"Cat! I can't find her! I left her on the playground and when I went out to check she was gone!" Andromeda didn't bother holding back the tears now. She looked around her, not wanting to miss Cat in case she walked by. "Cat!" she yelled again.

"Where are you? What were you doing?" her father asked, sounding like he was already getting into a car.

"I'm in Port Angeles," she started. She told him the directions while still looking for her. She heard some talking in the background, but in reality ignored it, there were so many more important things going on. She hung up and soon her phone rang again.

It was Mike this time, and he asked what was wrong upon hearing her voice. "I don't think I can make it today, I can't find my little sister," she tried saying calmly.

"Do you need help? Where are you?" Mike asked

She quickly explained it to him in between choked sobs. She went around the stores, asking each of them if they've seen a little girl walking around alone. She went back to the playground and the café often, hoping she returned back.

Nothing. She ran around until her legs were too tired and she just fell on the sidewalk. She stood up, not caring about being embarrassed and walked to the restaurant she worked in. She asked the manager, but the manager hadn't seen Cat. Some of the customers and the manager went out to look for her though, all knowing someone in Andromeda's family.

Her father finally arrived with her mother and she told them everything that happened. They had no time to be angry and once again went looking for her. It had been around three hours since Cat disappeared, but luckily, her father had found out that one of the store clerks had seen a little girl walking alone. The store clerk explained what she looked like and once they were happy that was Cat, they were relieved to find that she was not kidnapped.

Still, the very fact that she was missing kept them completely frantic. "Cat!" Andromeda called out, walking into another part of the town. It was dangerous here, and Andromeda didn't want to imagine that Cat was there. "Cat! Mommy and Daddy are looking for you!" she yelled.

Her mother caught up with her and gave her a jacket, "It's getting cold," her mother explained. There was a small whining sound from Mrs. Gates, and she shook her head, "My baby," she whispered, crying.

"You mean this one?" a voice said, a very familiar voice. Mrs. Gates and Andromeda looked up and saw it was Edward and Bella, with Bella carrying Cat.

"Catherine! My baby!" Eliza cried and quickly ran over to get Cat. Andromeda went after her and thanked, even hugged, Bella and Edward. Her father and the rest of the people, which included Charlie, ran towards them and were relieved to find that Bella had found Cat.

"She's okay?" Charlie asked and looked at Cat. The girl nodded happily and buried her face on her moms neck.

"Bella had her," Eliza explained, "I'm just glad she's safe."

"Where did you find her?" Andromeda asked, playing with Cat's little fingers while trying to make Cat laugh.

"She's was lost around here," Edward replied.

"Yeah, we found her walking around , she said she was trying to buy a present…" Bella sounded embarrassed and so she stopped.

Edward only chuckled and grinned, "She was trying to buy a present for Bella, but she didn't have any money so she wanted to go back and get Andromeda, but she didn't know how."

"Everyone was getting her a present I wanted to give one too," Cat said and the crowd chuckled with relief. Andromeda smiled at her little sister and looked towards Bella. She mouthed a sorry and shrugged, not sure on what to say. Bella nodded and smiled, she mouthed an okay back and looked back towards Edward.

It was hard to ignore Edward there, and Andromeda wished he was gone. "Annie!" she heard someone call. She turned around and saw it was Peter. He reached them and asked her if everything was okay and also asked Cat how she was feeling. Cat reached for Peter to hold her and Mrs. Gates let him hold her for a few minutes.

Mrs. Gates smiled at Andromeda and motioned her head towards Peter, "At least he's good with kids," she whispered and Andromeda laughed. Bella didn't want to admit it to herself, but she felt jealous of Andromeda. Her family seemed so whole, she seemed to have everything. Bella though, reminded herself how lucky she was that Edward had chosen her of all girls, and she wouldn't trade him for anything in the world.

Everyone left and it was just Bella and Edward. Edward smirked as he heard Andromeda's thoughts on how she was going to get punished and her parents thought on how they were going to punish her. Cat looked back at them and waved Edward goodbye, which he responded to with a nod. "She's really cute," Bella remarked, watching the family go, "Andromeda seems to be happy with Peter, I heard they had a fight."

This really didn't interest Bella a lot, but she wanted to pretend like her birthday didn't exist by creating a perfectly normal conversation. "I heard too," Edward replied and Bella knew what he meant.

"What was wrong?" Bella asked.

"It's a long story, and I promised her I wouldn't tell anyone."

"Does she know about your family?"

Edward chuckled and shook his head, "It is possible to have human friends."

"…right."

He put his arms around Bella and gave her a small kiss, not enough to hurt her, "Let's go." He said and she followed. Apparently, Alice had wanted her and Edward to get out of the house so she could plane a 'surprise' for Bella. Carlisle and the rest had long given up on trying to stop Alice from doing her types of things.

On the way home, Andromeda wondered if she still got her volunteer hours despite her only volunteering for thirty minutes. Her father was driving her car. If Andromeda wasn't responsible enough to take care of her little sister, then she was obviously way too irresponsible to drive a car.

They got home and Catherine was sent to her room to play with something. Andromeda was told to sit down. Her parents stood above her, angered, but mostly disappointed. "Annie, what were thinking? Why did you take Cat out of this house without asking permission first?" her mother began, trying to act calm.

"You know how many things could've happened to Cat, she's only four! I can't believe you would take a risk like that! I thought you were responsible," her father said, a bit louder.

"I was watching her every two minutes, I swear! She just disappeared out of nowhere!" Andromeda argued back, but she knew she wasn't going to win; it was her sister she had lost, not some antique luxury her parents would've gotten over in two years.

"Children don't disappear, they're either taken or they run, and we're lucky she wasn't taken! If you were taking her somewhere, the first thing you should've done is told us, then you shouldn't have ever taken your eyes of her!" her mother yelled

"She was trying to get Bella a fucking birthday present! How was I supposed to know she was going to go off and try to do that!" Andromeda yelled back

"Watch your language! I don't want those words in this house or out of your mouth, you understand? Now go, and I don't want to hear or see a computer turned on, a cellphone, a house phone, I don't even want to see your with your ballet slippers on! The only thing you're allowed to do is homework, got that?"

Andromeda just rolled her eyes and left. She usually wasn't like that with her parents, and unfortunately, this time she did admit that she was wrong. She went to Cat's room and quickly texted Shane and Crystal about what was going on. Crystal apparently already knew, but was stuck doing community service since she got pulled over by a cop. Shane was on a date with Heath, therefore didn't get the message soon enough.

Andromeda spent a night with Cat, mostly to make amends for what she did, or did not do. Cat didn't seem to mind, they played house, and Andromeda was the daddy. Andromeda went to sleep and she realized that she had never wished Bella a happy birthday, that would be done tomorrow then.

The school day was endless. People kept asking Andromeda about Cat and how she was doing. Andromeda didn't mind answering them, and actually found it flattering that people cared that much for her sister. It was a new semester though, and new classes were in order.

Andromeda was lucky enough to get two classes with Shane and Crystal, both of them together. She was unlucky to get two more classes with Edward, history and English. Gym was with Bella as always, and her newest class, Spanish 3, was with Mike and Peter.

She went to her first class, which was thankfully Calculus, and talked with Shane and Crystal while the teacher was saying something about the lesson. Apparently, the talking that was going on last semester about her and Edward was gone. This relieved Andromeda but when she was on her way to her second class, History, she wasn't so relieved.

She sat down as far away from him as humanly possible. He had been so busy with Bella's birthday, that he hadn't been able to spend any time with Andromeda, but that only relieved her. "Hey, how's your sister?" she heard someone ask. She replied and waited for the class to start.

They had started the Post World War II and the Vietnam War. Some of the focus on the class would also be directed to the creation of the State of Israel and the conflicts over the several groups. Andromeda had never understood what caused the Vietnam War, so this time she listened.

Edward chuckled as he saw Andromeda honestly curious over something that happened in history. Once she found out though, she was extremely disappointed. She had a grandfather that served in the Vietnam War, and that's why he fought? She sighed and began to daydream while looking out a window.

She was thinking about that audition in Seattle, coming up with a new routine. She was going to have lessons today, but she couldn't wait. Before she had known it, the bell rung and her daydream was interrupted. On her way to English, another class with Edward, she felt someone touch her arm and turned around.

"Hey, so the Vietnam War disappointed you?" Edward asked, smiling.

Andromeda shrugged, "I would think it'd be for a more important cause, I mean, my grandfather was always talking about it."

"A lot of things people do are stupid."

"We should know."

Edward looked at her for a moment. He didn't regret a single thing with her, just because they were doing something stupid, he would admit, that didn't mean that reflected how he felt about her. Edward took her hand and suddenly started leading her somewhere.

"Edward? What are you doing?" Andromeda asked, looking around to see how many people were watching, "People can see us! You have a girlfriend, you know how bad this looks!"

People were watching. Some of them were confused, most thought they were just fooling around. The girls watched and smiled as they saw Edward Cullen was going out with another girl and the boys sighed and rolled their eyes, obviously Edward Cullen has more than one girl.

Andromeda thought about Peter. Would someone tell him about this? He had caught her kissing Edward, and now with this, this might be the last straw. Andromeda pulled away and stepped back, "Stop!" she yelled. Some of the students looked but most just kept walking quickly to class.

"…Edward, leave me alone," she said, tired.

Edward walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She didn't try to stop him, there was no point, he was stronger than her anyway. "You're very bi-polar," he commented.

"Well, every time I think you're okay, you find a way to get me angry at you," she replied.

"Angry?"

"Sick of you."

Edward smirked and pulled her closer. She tried turning away but found she could barely move, so she just turned her head instead. Edward immediately thought back to Bella and let Andromeda go. He decided just to skip the period, and just sort things out. After Andromeda left for the class, Edward went to the parking lot and sat down on his car.

He could see the baseball team practicing and saw Peter there. Peter was still deciding whether or not to take Andromeda, which disgusted Edward to no end. Luckily, Peter was leaning more on waiting. At that moment Edward wished he could hear what Bella was thinking, so instead he heard Andromeda.

She was daydreaming again, but this time she was in the forest, surrounded by paths. She looked around frantically, not knowing which way to go, so she decides to stay where she was. Edward chuckled; Andromeda always had a creative way of thinking about her problems.

Alice was expecting him to bring Bella to her surprise party that night. He agreed that he would do it, Bella needed to be human for once. He thought about her wish to turn into a vampire. He couldn't bring himself to do it, and why she wanted to do it was beyond him. He didn't care how old she looked, or what her age was, but she didn't understand.

He sighed and heard the bell rung. He decided to ignore it and just close his eyes and pretend to sleep while trying to block out the thoughts. He did open his eyes when he heard certain thoughts and footsteps.

"Edward, if you keep doing this you're going to get caught," Andromeda said, standing in front of him

"Then why are you here?" he asked.

"I meant you'll get caught by the school."

"I know. You still didn't answer my question, why would you be here if you're afraid of me getting caught?"

Andromeda shrugged and slightly smiled, "I have a pretty high C in most of my classes, and I recently got a new tutor…my dad."

Edward laughed, "I wasn't good enough?"

"No, just never there."

There was silence between them, and Edward looked away, ashamed and guilty. He stood up and walked over to her, "How long has it been since we've danced?" he asked.

She looked up and him and shook her head, "I don't know." He took her hand and pulled her closer to him. She put her bag down and slowly they began to dance. Her daydream began, an old daydream of Romeo and Juliet, with the ever changing Romeo. She rested her head against his chest and listened to the emptiness that was there.

The late bell rang and Andromeda parted from Edward but not before Jessica was able too see. She smiled from within the school and quickly went to her next class, ecstatic at her new discovery. Andromeda went in as well, and Edward followed. They had different classes now anyway, and Andromeda's happened to be Biology with Shane and Crystal.

Biology was easy enough, they were learning something about RNA and mRNA and the functions of cells parts…ecosystems were easier. Crystal had a feeling, which unfortunately that feeling was always right. "You were Edward weren't you?" Crystal asked.

Andromeda didn't look at her for a while, "Well…we didn't do anything," Andromeda said, starting to feel guilty again.

"It's Bella's freaking birthday, can you get off the guy for a day?" Crystal said, shocked.

"I swear, I wasn't doing anything."

Great, now she felt twice as bad. That was probably the worst birthday present someone could give to Bella, a knife on her back with a broken heart to match. The day kept dragging on until she saw Peter again. He was laughing at some joke some had told, and he attempted to speak Spanish. She smiled at him and sat down next to him. He was in a surprisingly good mood that day, and even flirted with Andromeda as if they were just meeting for the second time.

Andromeda didn't mind, and actually liked being flirted with. Peter seemed happy with it too. Edward may have been a few classrooms apart, but he knew that Peter was only trying to woo Andromeda completely away from him. The idiot, it seemed, had truly fallen in love with Andromeda.

She didn't know it, but it was almost working. She felt more and more pulled towards Peter and less towards Edward. She remembered that night with Edward, where he admitted he wanted her first. After class, Peter led her outside towards the sports fields, and kissed her. Edward watched, bitter jealousy enveloping him.

He had never felt such an urge to kill someone before. He knew he was being selfish, he knew he was being unfair, and he knew he was being overall terrible, but he didn't care at that moment, watching someone he loved with another person. He wanted to break Peter's jaw for kissing Andromeda, but he wouldn't.

Edward was in love with her, so deeply he was in love with her. If Peter was the only thing that made Andromeda happy, then he wouldn't kill him, but he would resent him, and unjustly hate him. The urge was hard to suppress but he managed it and the class period ended and he could leave.

"See ya," Peter said and gave Andromeda a quick peck on the lips.

"Bye," she replied and walked to her car, actually her father's car. Shane and Crystal smiled at the improvement and silently celebrated.

"She's over him?" Shane asked

"I think so," Crystal replied.

They both almost squealed and Andromeda interrupted them. "I'm learning a new dance in ballet, I'm pretty excited," she said.

"Oh my gosh yes, you have to get, like, perfect for Seattle," Crystal agreed and Shane immediately started talking outfits. Shane wanted something in season, so he had to know the exact day of Seattle. Also, since Annie was a ballerina, they want something fun and energetic, but elegant at the same time. "Nothing shiny," he emphasized.

Andromeda came back from her classes, smiling, which was something new to her parents. Cat started smiling too and showed Andromeda her new tutu. Andromeda heard her father talking about how Charlie let Bella go to some party the Cullens were throwing for her.

Andromeda smiled. She felt happy for Bella, she got to visit the Cullens often, unlike her. She didn't mind though, the stares Rosalie would give her were usually more she could bear. Andromeda spent the night with her father, studying and actually learning what she ignored that day in school.

Her father disliked it when she didn't pay attention, but he wanted her dreams to come true so he would help her study. Cat was always a listener, who would then turn into a sleeper. Eventually every time Mrs. Gates wanted to get Cat to sleep, she'd sent her to study with Andromeda.

After that night, everything was strange the next day. Edward barely seemed to be touching Bella. He barely looked at her, barely did anything. This only made Jessica grin more since she had the ultimate secret, and now that Edward was ignoring Bella, it was the best time to let it out.

Edward hadn't seen Andromeda for the entire week, yet, the rumor spread like wildfire. It eventually reached Bella's ears. Bella, of course, refused to believe it. Edward would never to that to her, they must've misunderstood. He was trying to protect her, not cheat on her, they just didn't know his secret.

Everyone loved it though, and even though it wasn't sure, it was more than welcomed. Edward Cullen wasn't perfect, obviously he's going to have multiple girls, he's Edward Cullen. It reached Peter's ears as well, but Peter wasn't like Bella, Peter knew everything.

"Is it true? Are you back with him?" Peter asked suddenly during lunch.

"Who?" Andromeda asked, shocked.

"Stop playing dumb, we both know who."

Andromeda realized who he was talking about and shook her head, nervous. "No, I swear, we haven't done anything since the dance," Andromeda said, she didn't want to lose Peter.

"Really? How come everyone's saying that they saw you making out with Edward in the parking lot?" Peter asked

"I wasn't making out with him!"

"So you were there with him?"

"…I-I…yes, but we weren't doing anything."

Peter shook his head and began walking away. Andromeda went after him and tried explaining everything to him. Once she told Peter that Edward had wanted her, she knew that was a mistake. Peter was shocked and furious now, he wanted nothing more than to knock Edward's lights out.

"Stop, please!" Andromeda pleaded, trying to convince Peter not to fight anyone. Students around them seemed to support them fighting and wanted him to challenge Edward. Luckily, after that day, the week came to an end, and Andromeda was thankful.

This time they were in Crystal's house and all of them were talking about the rumor and more. Shane was confident that since Edward hasn't even looked at Andromeda, nobody would believe the rumor. Crystal argued that teenagers believe whatever they wanted to believe. Andromeda stayed silent while holding her head and trying to bury herself without moving.

"Look, you know those advice websites you find? Teens always ask for advice on everything, and then when they tell you the follow up, it's exactly what they wanted and not what you advised them. We don't look for advice, we look for people to tell us that we are right," Crystal said.

"Hold it there Socrates, that's not always true. If somebody told you that your wall was pink, when you can see it is green, and you want to believe it's pink, does that make it pink? No, simple as that, people can't deny what's right in front of their eyes," Shane said.

"Maybe if I eat something fried I'll clog my arteries and have a heart attack, that way I won't have to go back there," Andromeda whined.

Shane and Crystal sighed and lied down next to Andromeda. Andromeda was glad that they were next to her, that way they could be witnesses when the floor swallows her. They assured her that no matter what, it would pass, and it did. The talk had already slowed down ever since Edward was seen going somewhere with Bella. Both Shane and Crystal were right, they had believed what they wanted, but eventually what they saw had to be taken into consideration.

Andromeda was in her room, trying to study for Spanish. It was the only subject her father couldn't teach her in, since he didn't know a world of Spanish. Well, actually, he knew uno, dos, tres, caballo, which meant, one, two, three, horse.

'Imperfect, preterits, blah…' she thought. Spanish was way too complicated for her, why can't they just stick to one past form? She sighed and pushed the book away. She'd been so busy with studies and dance that it's been a while since she had a talk with Peter. Sure, she occasionally saw him and got to speak to him there, but she didn't get to really talk to him.

She was about to pick up the phone when a familiar cold hand stopped her. The hand held hers for a while before putting it back on the bed. "Edward?" she asked and looked up at him. He was serious, more serious than she had ever seen him. To be truthful, it scared her.

Edward heard her and looked away, "I'm not going to hurt you," he said. She nodded, but she wasn't sure. He always hurt her, some way or the other. Edward winced at her thought and looked back at her. It had been so long since he even saw her from this close, but it reminded him how beautiful she was.

He chuckled as she adjusted her glasses and looked away, embarrassed. She was in no way prepared to see anyone, she was breaking out, and she just gained a pound and a half, her hair was tangled, and on top of that she hadn't shaved her legs in days, just thinking about herself grossed her out. At that point she was silently happy she wasn't those girls with mustaches.

"Excuse me," she said quietly and ran into her bathroom. Edward smiled and soon chuckled. He didn't really care what she looked like, but he found it cute that she was such a human girl. If anything, he liked flaws, they reminded him she was truly a living human.

He heard some clattering in the bathroom and she came out, flushed. She was wearing long pants now and her hair was combed and pushed back. She reasoned her hair was wavy, and she'll never get it that organized. He only smiled at her and waited patiently, it was his fault that he came in all of a sudden.

"Are you finished?" he asked.

She nodded and sat down, still embarrassed. "Um…what are you doing here?" she asked, unsure of what to say. He had ignored her for days and now he decides to see her again, and she had no idea why. He didn't answer, he only made her face him and pulled her close. "Edward…what's going on?" she asked.

She had a feeling that he wasn't there for no reason, there had to be something. "I'm leaving," he whispered. It took her a while to register what he had said, but she realized it, she separated from him.

"What? What do you mean?" she asked.

"Me and my family, we're leaving Forks," he repeated.

"I don't see why you have to, people like your family…sort of, and you still have on-"

"It's too dangerous here, especially for me."

Andromeda knew then what he was talking about. The reason he had ignored Bella, and the reason he had avoided her so much, he had tried to kill Bella. Edward shook his head and explained it wasn't him, it was Jasper, but when he smelled Bella's blood, he wanted to kill her.

Andromeda began to shake. She had wanted Edward to leave her alone, but now that he was leaving, she felt her heart already starting to break. 'God, I need to make up my mind,' she thought. She didn't want him to leave, but she didn't want him to keep seeing her, but she still loved him too much and wanted to see him…she didn't know what she wanted.

Edward gently kissed her forehead, which distracted her from thinking at that moment. He tilted her chin towards him and smiled, "You think too much," he said and she looked down at his chest. He pressed his lips against her cheek and then down to her neck, "I love you," he whispered.

Andromeda shook her head and stepped away from him, "You don't say that to someone you're leaving for good," she whispered back. She couldn't say that she loved him as well, it would be too much for her to handle. She only looked away, wanting him to stay, but knowing he was going to leave.

He took her hand and led her to the middle of the room. They slowly started to dance, like they had done during the time they had just met. He started humming a tune and she rested against his chest. He didn't know how he was going to leave, he had just left Bella, and it was still more than he could bear; now with Andromeda, he felt like he wasn't going to make it, pain would destroy him.

They stopped dancing and one last time, Edward kissed Andromeda. His lips felt colder, harder, against her warm, soft ones. Edward found it difficult to leave her warmth, her tender touch, the heat pooling in her stomach and cheeks, and above all, her. Against his desires, he separated from her and gave her a final kiss on her pink cheek.

Then he left. She still felt warm, and her heart was still pounding wildly, her lips were still quivering, but now she felt empty. Edward was gone. He knew she wouldn't run after him like Bella would, she wouldn't beg him to stay, she wouldn't ask him if it was her, she wouldn't hold on to him until he changed his mind. He knew she would let him go, she had been letting him go every night, and every day he was with Bella.

Her heart would ache, and there would be this numb pain in her body that made it difficult to swallow and sometimes even breath. Nevertheless, she would move on, and just like he returned to her every time she let go, this time, if it was meant to be, he would keep returning.

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**I may be a little too old for Fairly Odd Parents, but that's one of my favorite cartoons XD **

**As you all may know, this is the part of the story is where Edward leaves Bella. The next chapter is when I get more in depth on what happens to Bella. Starting on Chapter 12, the focus will be Bella, and more on how she feels. Of course, Jacob will be arriving in future chapters and we'll see what happens with Andromeda thrown in the mix :D jk. I do hope you'll like it though. **

**Thank you for reading! **

**Hope you review!**


	12. Rift

**Another Chapter, I'm finally speeding up :D**

**This was originally one chapter, but it was getting too long and I'm not even close to done with the other half, so I split it into two. This is pretty long by itself, and the next will probably be longer. Since it's next chapter that Jacob will come into the picture. It'll probably take me longer to update the next chapter since there are a lot things I need to work out, but thank you for being patient.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight**

* * *

Andromeda heard her parents talking about something, mentioning Charlie and Bella a lot. She wondered if something happened between them, after all, for some reason Bella didn't seem to get along with her father very well, and he appeared awkward next to her most of the time. Then she realized that it had to do something with Edward's depart, maybe Bella was already starting to suffer depression and Charlie didn't know what to do.

She went downstairs to see what it was about and found her father getting ready to leave. "Dad? What's going on?" she asked, worried that her father had to leave so late in the night. Eliza shook her head and went into the kitchen, "Kids these days," she heard her mother whisper.

Her father tried smiling at the woman and then looked at Andromeda. "It's Bella," he began, "Some boys from the reservation found her alone in the forest, they said she was unconscious and looked like she had been falling a lot."

This surprised Andromeda, "She was alone and unconscious?" she asked and her father nodded. Andromeda could only think of one reason why Bella would do that: Edward. He left her alone in the forest, he knew she would chase after him, but he was hoping she wouldn't. She kept chasing him until she passed out. Andromeda couldn't believe that Edward would just leave her there; the least he could do is go back and put her somewhere safe.

Bella would've tried to stop him though. With all her might she would've chased after him, begged him, try to reason with him not to leave her. Andromeda simply, as she always did, just let go. "I want to come with you," Andromeda said, understanding how Bella felt. It was more than any person should be able to handle.

"No Annie, it's too late," her father said. He gave her a quick kiss on her forehead and left the house. Him and Charlie were becoming good friends ever since Cat got lost on Bella's birthday. It made sense that Thomas would go help Charlie when he had lost his daughter for a day.

Her mother was bitter when he left. "I knew that Cullen boy was no good from the start," she muttered. Ever since the day Andromeda went to Edward's house with her father, Eliza has been against Edward. He was a no good, two-timing, young trouble-maker. The kind of teenage boys' mothers dread for their daughters.

"He does care about Bella," Andromeda said, trying to defend him.

Her mother scoffed, "Yeah, I can see that, nothing says I love you than leaving you on the unconscious on the cold ground, Annie, I don't want you near that boy."

"He's gone, so that's not a problem."

Eliza sighed and put the glass she was cleaning down, "I know…but I don't you to be the one on the ground next time." There was more she wanted to say, of that much Andromeda knew, but her mother was usually one to keep things to herself. Andromeda never noticed how tired her mother looked, and she realized that she knew about Edward and Andromeda. Eliza was once a teenager herself, she knew.

Andromeda left, the silence from her mother being worse than her yelling. That was the talk of the night: Bella. Some people, the Anti-Bella Club as her friends called them, said that Bella was pathetic and she chose to chase after him. Basically, it was her own fault. They reasoned that if Bella hadn't been so obsessed with Edward, this wouldn't have been such a big deal. Then there was the Pro-Bella Club, who said it was Edward's fault. Bella had been in love with Edward and he just left her out of nowhere. She had a broken heart, and people do irrational things when they're as hurt as her. Basically, it was Edward's fault.

Then there was the No-Bella Club, people who didn't care why or how it happened, but where only curious to see if she was okay. This club consisted of about two people, Andromeda and Angela. Crystal was in the Anti-Bella Club, while Shane was in the Pro-Bella Club, which created some conflict when they were together. Most of the time though, they ignored the whole Bella thing altogether and talked about Andromeda's audition in Seattle, which apparently, is pretty far off.

The next few days, Bella became a recluse. She barely spoke, her smiles seemed fake and plastic, her eyes were droopy and lacking sleep, and she looked like she had nothing to live for. Andromeda smiled at her whenever she could, waves of sympathy hitting her when she saw Bella.

Bella, on the other hand, barely noticed anything. She could only think of that hole Edward had created. She still loved him, and the gap in her heart worsened whenever she thought he was gone. She became attached to the little things that reminded her of him. She sat on his old seat in all the classes they had together, she parked where he used to park, to some it was pathetic, to others, it was heartbreaking.

Andromeda was walking to her car when she heard someone call her name. She turned around, not sure on who to expect, and to her surprise, she saw Bella. "Hey," Bella said when she had caught up with her.

Andromeda never noticed that Bella was taller than her. She never noticed how much prettier Bella was than her. Andromeda had to wake up every morning and spend an hour putting on make-up, hiding blemishes, brushing her hair, choosing an outfit and waking up her little sister. Bella only woke up and got dressed, and she looked amazing.

Instantly Andromeda was jealous, but she pushed it aside and thought about how Bella must've felt. "Hi," Andromeda replied.

"Um…you knew Edward, right?" Bella asked

Andromeda nodded, not sure on how to respond. She felt awkward, and above all, guilty, she wanted to tell Bella everything right then and there, but once again she stopped herself, "We were friends."

Bella seemed to have forgotten how to speak, she was very lost in thoughts, numb to the world around her. "I heard that you and him were…" she struggled with the words.

Andromeda felt her muscles tighten, and all of a sudden she felt like running away. "It was just a rumor, we've been friends for a while, it's just he got a girlfriend and everyone freaks out," Andromeda wanted to applaud herself for sounding so collected, and she even chuckled as well.

"So, what did you guys talk about?"

"Nothing important, usually music or television…sometimes homework, he doesn't have any big dreams so we didn't talk much about ambition, whenever we did it was me doing all the talking."

"Oh…so what do you want to be?"

Andromeda saw this as an attempt from Bella to gain her friendship. She understood now, since she had been Edward's friend, maybe being friends with his friend will quell down the pain of losing him. "A dancer, or ballerina, same thing kinda" Andromeda replied.

It had slowly begun to rain and Andromeda started to walk hurriedly to her car. "Wait!" Bella said and caught up with her, "Maybe we can hang out sometime," Bella said. Andromeda was barely able to hear but nevertheless caught what Bella had said.

"Sure, I've never been asked out by a girl before," Andromeda said, trying to sound cheerful, and even make a joke. Bella attempted to smile, but it came out looking extremely forced and fake. Bella waved goodbye and ran to her truck.

Andromeda leaned against her car, getting soaked by the rain. She ran towards some of the trees threw up there. She didn't know how she was going to pull off a day with Bella, after everything Bella had been through, after everything she had done to Bella without her knowledge. The guilt had made Andromeda cry once more. If she did befriend Bella, that would only make everything worse.

Shane and Crystal found her lying on the front of her car, getting wet. Shane took off his jacket and threw it over her and led her into the car. "I'm such a terrible person," Andromeda whispered, her eyes red and puffy, and her makeup smudged.

Crystal combed her hair and shook her head, "No you're not, you're actually too nice for your own good."

"She wants to be my friend, and I'm just a backstabbing bitch that's been seeing her boyfriend for a year!"

"Well, her boyfriends gone, and she's single, trust me, the boys are back on her case."

Shane sighed and looked at Crystal and Andromeda, "Annie, if you don't want to be her friend, you don't have to."

Andromeda looked at him and wiped away some of the smudged eyeliner, "But…she wants to be. I don't know, I guess I remind her of Edward since she thinks we were friends."

"Well," Shane began, "You guys _were_ friends…with a few benefits."

"Great, I feel like a slut now."

Crystal laughed, "Babe, you're still a virgin, slut is Jessica."

Shane and Crystal agreed and started laughing. Eventually Andromeda began laughing as well and finally Shane drove her home. They stayed and talked about some stuff while having chocolate, well, Shane and Crystal had chocolate. Andromeda looked at the brown stuff in disgust. Dark Chocolate is good for you, but Milk Chocolate is fattening, and Andromeda spent too much of her life dieting to waste it now.

"You know, the amount of hate that Jessica and Lauren have towards Bella is like totally amazing, that kind of stuff doesn't exist anymore," Crystal said, eating a snicker bar with hot fudge.

"I know right," Shane said, eating a Hershey bar, "Annie, you need to ask Bella if she knows the amount of girls that hate her."

"Yeah, all the guys are after her again and she's so obsessed with Edward she doesn't even notice it," Crystal added.

"Well, she really misses Edward, and it's not her fault that guys like her, I mean, she is nice and pretty," Andromeda said.

Crystal scoffed, "Admit it Annie, you don't like her that much, who would? She's got like half the school obsessing over her in one way or the other, and you've been trying to get noticed your whole life and that only happened because someone spread a rumor about you and Edward."

Andromeda didn't argue with her line of thinking. She didn't want to admit it, but it was true, she wasn't very fond of Bella. She tried changing her opinion many times, after all, she had been seeing Edward behind Bella's back, she didn't want to think badly about her when she was betraying her.

So many times had she talked herself into liking Bella. In reality, Bella had taken away all opportunity with Mike as soon as her feet landed in Forks, Bella had been asked out by multiple guys but of all of them she chooses Edward who just started paying attention to Andromeda, she was the center of attention at the dance, every one wanted to get her a present for her birthday, she got to see the Cullen family all the time, she got to be with Edward all the time, she got good grades, she got everything.

Half those things though, weren't even her fault. Edward chose Bella over her, and then decided he wanted both. Bella didn't know Mike and the other guys were going to like her, and she didn't know Edward had started seeing Andromeda before her. She also made friends with Alice, so of course she got to see the Cullen family all the time, she was smart so of course she got good grades. Everything that Andromeda disliked her for was out of her control, and truly no ones fault. Therefore, Andromeda tried not to think bitterly of her.

She could also think of what she had. She had Peter, who loved her, she had her mother and father living under the same roof, a little sister, and best friends. Bella didn't have that. Bella was so focused on Edward, she didn't have time to make real friends who are just human, and she doesn't live like a human. Andromeda always had to remember everything she had, instead of everything she didn't, but in her defense, it's difficult to remember the good things in life when so many bad things happen.

"Okay, it's true, I am a bit jealous of her, but I rather stay invisible than get the bad attention she's getting, and that rumor was true, people just stopped believing it," Andromeda said.

"Too True," Shane said, nodding his head, "I don't even know why Jessica and Lauren hate Bella so much. She's pretty, so what? Do they want her to grow a uni-brow and a mustache and then they'll like her? I mean, I'm not saying I'm a Bella fanboy, I gotta say, I think she's kind of a bitch."

Crystal smiled and then started laughing. Shane and Andromeda looked at her like she was on some type of narcotic, "I just noticed," Crystal began, "we really need to get over this crush with Bella."

Shane and Andromeda soon started laughing as well and nodded. It was true, so far they've just been talking Bella. It must be love, Shane said and the rest laughed. Andromeda started feeling better about everything; once again her friends had managed to get her mind off everything that has just been wrong. Who knows, with Edward gone, maybe Andromeda will really get to know Bella.

The next day, she spent the morning with Peter instead of her friends. Ever since Edward left, Peter had gotten closer to Andromeda, he kissed more in public, he made bolder moves, and he had tried to forget he had ever seen Andromeda and Edward together.

He was showing her his new tennis racket and baseball bat he had gotten from the Newton's store. Lately he had been getting a lot stronger, which Andromeda had no complaints against. His blonde hair had gotten darker as well for some reason, but it wasn't as dark as Andromeda's.

"Why don't you wear your glasses more?" he asked while they sat outside together.

Andromeda chuckled and shook her head, "No, they're dorky and big."

"They're cute."

"You're a freak."

"I like dorky girls, and you're just not cutting it."

Andromeda laughed and waved at Bella as she walked by. She turned her attention back to Peter who looked at Bella and then at Andromeda. "How's chemistry been going?" she asked. Peter was an overachiever in her opinion; therefore, he took senior chemistry.

"Well, there was a lab incident with my partner, but I clearly warned him, 'Dude, you're on fire'. Whose fault it was is open for negotiation."

Andromeda laughed again and gave him a small kiss. Of course there was no incident, but he liked to make her laugh. Bella couldn't help but look at them with jealousy, that had been her and Edward not too long ago, but now he was gone. The ache in her chest increased, and she looked deader than ever. The pain was getting too much and she felt it sting every time she breathed.

She started yearning for the numbness to return, for her to stop feeling that hole in her chest. The pain the emptiness caused wasn't so bad, at least it reminded she had truly been with Edward at one point in her life. Andromeda looked back and saw Bella looking off somewhere, everything about her seeming dead.

Bella not only looked colder, she looked paler as well. She was nothing more than a shell ever since Edward left. Andromeda whispered something to Peter and went up to Bella. Bella didn't notice her there for some time, but when she did, she managed to look up.

"Are you okay? You seem…tired," Andromeda said.

Bella gave a half-hearted smile and nodded, "I'm fine, really."

Her words sounded rehearsed, mechanical, and monotone. Andromeda sat down next to her, having a hard time thinking about how she was nothing more than an other, while Bella was the true love. "You know, maybe he'll come back, even for a visit," she said, trying to cheer her up.

Bella slowly nodded, "Sure," she replied.

The bell rung and everyone quickly went to their classes. The entire time, Andromeda was considering telling Bella the truth about Edward. He had been cheating on her the entire time. On the nights Bella thought he was with her, he was actually with Andromeda, kissing her, humming to her, or hearing her speak about ballet. Maybe if she told Bella everything, Bella wouldn't miss him so much, and she'd be able to move on.

Maybe she would even accept a date with Mike. He was a great guy, and he cared about her wellbeing. On top of that, if she moved on from Edward, maybe she would be able to finally befriend Jessica and Lauren. She would have more time with Angela as well. She would live a normal life instead of one filled with blood and vampires. And if Bella was that into vampires, then she could find another undead boy, it's Washington, it shouldn't be to hard to find…maybe.

On the halls though, when she saw Bella, she realized that she couldn't tell her. Seeing how much Bella had loved Edward, Andromeda realized that even if she told Bella that she'd slept with Edward, she'd never believe her. She hadn't slept with him though, she wasn't a whore unlike some thought. The point was, Bella wasn't ever going to get over Edward.

It was already dark and Andromeda had just finished studying with her dad after spending a few hours in the dance studio. She looked at the clock and realized she had time to call someone or even read a bit of Romeo and Juliet. She picked up the play and read the prologue. "Ay me! Sad hours seem long!" she recited putting the book down. She thought of Edward for a while. Bella wasn't the only one who was hurt by him. The pain existed in Andromeda as well, but he had caused her so much pain before, that she was able to handle it. She had to convince herself that Edward was just at Bella's house, that's why he wasn't with her.

"Griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast" she recited once more. She looked at the CDs Edward had given her, and felt her heart drop. He was gone, completely. She didn't understand why, but she felt the need to call Bella. Luckily, she had Jessica's number, therefore, she was able to get Bella's.

"Hello?" Bella said, unsure of who it was.  
"Hey, it's me, Andromeda," Andromeda said.

"Oh, what's up?"

Andromeda could hear that Bella was honestly trying to sound normal, "Um, I was wondering if you still wanted to go somewhere, I was thinking maybe just go shopping in Port Angeles or something."

"Sure, that sounds good, when?"

"Saturday works for me, but I have to work that day so it has to be early."

"Sure, I don't mind, that sounds good."

"Okay, see ya then."

"See ya."

Andromeda hung up quickly and put down the phone, flustered. Okay, the girlfriend was hanging out with the other…good deal. Andromeda buried herself in her pillows and counted to ten. When she found that wasn't good enough, she let herself live.

"Wait, so you're hanging out with Bella on Saturday?" Crystal asked.

"Is this an official date? Because we need to plan an outfit," Shane said

Andromeda laughed and shook her head, "It's not a date, but I am considering it," she joked. Crystal was honestly shocked at Andromeda's decision to go ahead with befriending Bella.

"Annie, I think this is a bad idea, I mean, one way or the other, Bella's going to find out," Crystal said.

It sounded reasonable, but there's a lot of things that sound reasonable that never get done. Crystal and Shane decided it was better not to advise Andromeda on what to do, after all, just like Crystal once said, once a teen's mind is set, it's hard to change it. It's better and worse just to let everything play out as it should.

When Saturday came, the first thing Andromeda had to tackle was a sister who insisted she come along. Afterwards, came parents who bombarded her with questions from "did you eat breakfast?" to "Why do you want to be friends with Bella all of a sudden?" After Andromeda had made it through her house and to her car, she called Bella to see if she preferred Andromeda picking her up or going on the truck.

Bella chose Andromeda's car, since a Ferrari somehow reminded her of Edward. The drive to Port Angeles was silent and uncomfortable. Andromeda was starting to feel better around Bella, but the fact Bella was a zombie wasn't helping. She felt like bursting and just telling Bella her honest opinion, but she had to control herself.

Eventually, everyone cracks. "Bella," Andromeda said and Bella looked at her with empty eyes. Andromeda felt such a pang of sympathy that she forgot what she was going to say, but remembered, "I know you really miss Edward, but it's not healthy to do this to yourself. People are starting to make Anti-Bella stuff because of this and I honestly think you're actually worth more than Edward."

"What do you mean?" Bella asked.

"If a guy leaves you so heartbroken then you're obviously too good for him."

Andromeda felt the hypocrisy in those words. Edward had hurt her so many times, but she always forgave him. The reason, she guessed, she always forgave him is due the fact that she never doubted he loved her, just like he never doubted she loved him. He had broken her heart, but there are other moments that she wouldn't trade for the world.

Bella only looked away until they got to their destination. At first, they were just quietly shopping and browsing through things. "So, how long were you and Edward friends?" Bella suddenly asked.

It took a while for Andromeda to reply, but eventually she did, "Since he first came to Forks. He was kinda a loner though," she replied.

"Yeah…"

Andromeda wanted to ask her something, and now she thought would be a good time. "What if Edward and I really were seeing each other like that rumor said? What would you have done?" she asked. This surprised Bella, and she had no answer for it.

The thought of Edward cheating on her widened the whole in her chest and she felt like crying. Andromeda could see that she made a mistake by asking that, and tried to take it back, "I'm not saying we were, and you don't have to answer," she said, sounding weak.

Bella only shook her head and looked down for a while, "I don't know…I wouldn't be able to leave him, you don't understand how much I love him."

Andromeda felt like throwing up again. She didn't understand how much Bella loved Edward, "If he did cheat on you, why would you still love him?"

"It's so hard not to. He's everything, he's absolutely beautiful, he's strong, he cares about me, or at least pretends to…he's gone though, and it's killing me." She was whispering now, feeling as if she were to speak louder, she would break.

Andromeda wanted to excuse herself, and eventually she did. She went to the restroom, which luckily was empty and just sat down. It was so hard for her to breath, and she realized she couldn't do it. She couldn't speak to Bella, not without wanting to cry and ask for forgiveness. Not without wanting to tell her that Edward did betray her, that he had been seeing her, the other, for a year.

Andromeda felt worthless. Most of all, she felt like a terrible person, and she probably was. She was a terrible, selfish person. She finally left the restroom, somewhat more collected. She changed the topic with Bella and found her and Edward had very similar taste in music…great, both of them were depressed.

Andromeda told Bella of her dreams to be a ballerina, and perform on stage. She also cleared up that she wore purple contacts and they were not her real eye color. Bella followed the conversation easily, and it helped that once Bella had taken ballet classes but found it a bit too hard.

Bella still seemed so empty, despite her talking. She still thought about Edward, she still missed Edward so much. She considered maybe the reason Edward left was because not only did he not love her, he was in love with someone else, with Andromeda. She pushed the thought aside, it was too painful, and if he did love Andromeda, then why would he leave her as well?

They were just friends, that's what Bella would keep convincing herself. "Hey, you're boyfriend's Peter, right?" Bella asked.

Andromeda nodded and wondered if Bella wanted to meet him. Apparently she did. Andromeda called Peter and at first he was skeptical about it, but he agreed anyway. He knew Cullen was gone, but he still felt threatened by him. They met Peter outside the bookstore and Andromeda greeted him with a small peck on his lips.

"Hey, Bella, how's it been going?" he asked, sounding cheerful

"Fine," Bella lied, trying to smile

It was sad how fake her smile was looking, and Peter wondered why Edward had so many girls when all he did was hurt them. "So, you and Annie are friends now? That's weird."

Andromeda chuckled and looked away, a bit awkward. "Well, we're getting along well," Bella finally said, "So, how long have you two been going out?"

"Ten months," Andromeda replied and Peter agreed, surprised Andromeda actually kept track. He was going to say a long time. Bella commented on how cute they looked together and they both thanked her. Peter went on to talk about baseball season and then tennis. Andromeda explained to Bella that he was an overachiever and if he got too excited no one would understand what he was saying.

Bella somewhat enjoyed some of her time with them, they were very nice to her. Peter though, was looking at Andromeda, and Andromeda could see there was something on his mind. An argument no doubt. They took Bella back home and Peter took Andromeda somewhere near her house, but not to close.

"What's wrong?" Andromeda began to ask but Peter interrupted her.

"So you miss Cullen that much that now you go after his girlfriend!" Peter exclaimed suddenly.

"This has nothing to do with Edward!" Andromeda argued back.

"Bullshit! Look, you and Eddykins have Bella fooled but I saw you, and I'm an idiot thinking that once he was gone you would finally be somewhat faithful to me."

"I am-"

"I know he's not here, but you want him to be," Peter said and looked away, "Andromeda, what do I have to do for you, just once, to start wanting to be with me instead of him all the time?"

Andromeda didn't know what to say. "I…I do want to be with you, I do love you Peter."

"You still love him too though, don't you?"

Andromeda couldn't move, but she couldn't lie either, so she found enough strength to nod. Peter shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. He had to leave, he couldn't be there anymore. Peter had a feeling that wherever that traitor was, he probably still had feelings for Andromeda as well.

Bella wasn't sure how to feel, but she could sense a rift between Peter and Andromeda. She didn't want to believe Edward had been cheating on her, so she didn't. Andromeda on the other hand, wanted to chase after Peter and promise that she would never see Edward again. She couldn't lie to herself though, she still loved Edward.

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**I know this is my own story, but I still can't help but feel sorry for Peter, I did create him. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I honestly think I put too much emphasis on Bella's deadness, but I wanted to portray her the way Meyer did, maybe I overdid it though. **

**Well, I accet all types of critiques and reviews, and I hope you're enjoying the story so far. No flames though.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Plz Review! **


	13. Accepting

**Chapter 13 already. Only two days since my last update.**

**As I said before, this chapter is fairly long. This is also Jacob's introduction :D Next chapter will deal more with him since it's the movie date XD I don't want to give anything away though, even though I just kinda did.**

**Sorry. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight.**

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Andromeda stood outside her house, not really wanting to go in. She liked being outside more than inside anyway…she just didn't like what humidity did to her hair. She decided to call her boss and let her know she wasn't feeling well, which was true in a way. It wasn't like her to skip out on work, but this time she just needed a break.

She finally went into her house and started playing with Cat, which was the easiest thing to do when she wanted to take her mind off things. Cat was excited that she had a new player for her games, and luckily, considering her age, she didn't ask a lot of questions. Andromeda noticed Cat had gotten taller, and for some reason she dreaded it. Cat was growing up. It was a thought that Andromeda wasn't too excited to accept, because she knew the faster Cat grew up; the faster life would get harder.

She went to the kitchen and made a sandwich, which reminded her of the sexist jokes Peter's younger brother liked to tell. His favorite was the easy bake oven joke, which taught little girls their place. This reminded her of Peter himself, whenever he would hear his brother, which was only 3 years younger, say those jokes, he would always punch him playfully on the stomach or shoulder.

The sexist jokes no longer bothered Andromeda that much anymore, she was used to him saying them, and when their mother came in the room, he would fall deathly silent. Peter would always apologize to Andromeda afterwards, and make his younger brother apologize as well.

'I shouldn't have let him go,' Andromeda thought. She had already lost Edward, she was still lucky to have Peter and she didn't want to lose him too. She looked at the sandwich with distaste and wondered why she even made it. It was getting late and the body needs at least two to three hours to digest food. On top of that if she ate now, the fat would go to her hips.

She added cheese and lettuce to the ham sandwich and then fried it. Thomas, who came in for a drink, almost tripped when he saw Andromeda frying something. "Alright kid, who are you and what have you done to my Annie?" he asked, holding rolled up magazine.

Andromeda laughed and put the sandwich on a plate. "It's not for me, it's for Cat," Andromeda replied.

She began to take the sandwich to the girl until her father stopped her, "Wait a sec, Cat's way too young to be having anything fried at this time...better give this to me."

Andromeda smiled and shrugged, "Fine by me."

Her father took the sandwich and made his way back to the television to watch some fashion channel with her mother. It wasn't his choice to watch fashion, but he did find it funny how people overreacted with the way they looked. Then again, he was fine with wearing broken jeans on a weekend.

Andromeda heard her dad laughing when the woman getting a make-over had her old clothes thrown and she screamed. Andromeda thought about it for a while and figured she wouldn't mind throwing her old wardrobe away for an entirely new one. Maybe they would even give her some M.A.C brushes, or even better, M.A.C eye shadow.

She went upstairs to her room and thought about calling Shane and Crystal, but decided against it. She didn't want to think, move, or even talk, she just wanted to relax and pretend there was nothing wrong between her and Peter, and she didn't miss Edward. She managed to block out Edward fine, the pain of missing him subsiding quickly as she thought about the terrible things he had done to her and Bella. Before she could remember why she fell so in love with Edward, she quickly thought about Peter instead.

Afterwards, she tried blocking Peter out as well. He was right on so many things, and he didn't deserve someone as ungrateful as her. She knew he loved her though; therefore he would stand Andromeda constantly hurting him, leaving him for Edward. Everything that Edward did to her, she did to Peter.

It was harder to block Peter out; he had never done anything to harm her. She tried thinking about what Edward once said about him thinking about her in a way she preferred not to say. She remembered then, what she once had offered to Peter. She sat up and grabbed the phone, wanting to call him.

She stopped halfway and put the phone down. Her virginity wasn't something she should give to make amends with him, but she had done so much to him, maybe if she gave him that, he would forgive her completely. She wanted to talk about it with her parents, but she feared what they might say. She didn't want them accusing her of already being active, and she didn't want them losing trust in her.

She could read about it online, but how could she trust a bunch of people she didn't even know? She left it alone and went to her computer to try to distract herself with something else, but of course her mind always kept wondering back to that. She soon found herself just watching videos on Youtube not even thinking about what was actually going on in the video.

From what she could tell, Charlie, the baby, bit his brother's finger. They had a British accent and from there she stopped paying attention. She closed the web page and looked at the time. It was midnight, pretty early for a Saturday in her opinion. She kept looking at the computer and eventually gave in and decided to look up some of her questions.

The results disappointed her. There were plenty of websites, more than plenty actually, but they all only spoke about getting tested and teen pregnancy. Andromeda didn't think about teen pregnancy that often, as she didn't think it would happen to her. If she did end up having you know what at a young age she would use protection. One of the websites though did actually offer some of the information she was looking for, but its highest recommendation was talking to parents about it.

She turned off the computer and decided to go to bed. She couldn't talk to her parents about it, she didn't know what they would say, and she didn't want to be judged by them. She just pushed the problem aside once more and got ready for bed. This time, she made sure to shave her legs. It took a while for her to go to sleep, but she managed to do so.

The next day wasn't very easy for Andromeda. First, Cat spilled chocolate syrup on Andromeda, afterwards she found out that Cat had wet her bed and called her parents to clean it. Of course, her parents just ordered her to clean it herself. She slowly made her way up to Cat's room to handle the mess and glared at Cat.

"You're not funny," Andromeda said as Cat smiled at her while she followed.

Andromeda went into the room and took off all the sheets, which smelled terrible. She's not even a teen mom but she already has to handle pee, at least Cat didn't cry a lot. Cat laughed as Andromeda made gagging sounds when smelling the mattress, "Cat! What did you drink?"

"I don't know," Cat replied, running towards her stuffed animals.

"Gross."

She took the sheets down to the laundry room and set them to wash. Afterwards, she felt the need for a good bath…again. Cat though, insisted that she take a bath with her. Andromeda didn't know how to turn down the girl, so she tried slowly explaining that Cat and she were too big to take baths together anymore.

"Why?" Cat kept asking. Eventually, Andromeda just gave up and decided to take the bath with the girl. They were sisters, and Cat just wanted to spend more time with Andromeda.

Cat kept talking about wanting to be in a pageant like the ones on T.V. She liked dressing up so it was perfect for her. Andromeda tried convincing her out of it, dresses were expensive for those pageants and they want children to act like adults. Cat went on to tell Andromeda about some Spanish cartoon she was watching, and showed her some of the words she learned.

'Great, she's not even in school yet and she knows more,' Andromeda thought as Cat recited the Spanish words.

Andromeda helped Cat get dressed afterwards and let her pick her outfit for once. Andromeda had put some of her clothes in Cat's room, that way she didn't have to run across the hall in a towel. She got dressed and went to her room to call her friends. She needed to talk to them about something and she didn't want anyone overhearing.

She decided to call Crystal first, knowing by this time she was probably having breakfast. It was her mother who picked up, but at least she heard Crystal in the background asking who it was. "It's Andromeda," Andromeda said.

"It's for you," she overheard her mother saying. Crystal walked over and picked up the phone, "Yo," she said.

"I have a problem."

"No duh, so what is it?"

Andromeda wondered what type of reputation she had among her friends; she wondered if she even had a reputation, "I don't know what to do about Peter."

"You're still having problems with him? I thought once Eddie was gone you'd guys be all like happy and stuff."

"Well, I'm still a bad girlfriend, that didn't change."

Crystal sighed and put down the cereal bar, "Just be blunt with him, he obviously cares about you, so I don't think he'll mind if you want to talk about it."

"We just into a small argument yesterday, I don't think it's time to talk."

"Still, you need to do it, tension isn't good in a relationship."

Andromeda sighed and fell back on the bed, "I noticed."

"Gotta go, me and Ryan are going out today."

"Where?"

"No idea, but I hope it's fun."

Andromeda chuckled and Crystal laughed. Crystal hung up after saying their goodbyes and Andromeda was left wondering what to do. She wanted to talk to Peter, to clear things up, but she didn't know if he'd want to talk to her. Maybe she could ask him out on a date, he wouldn't expect that.

She started dialing his phone and wondered what he was doing. She still felt horrible for everything she did to him, and she would do anything to make it up. Peter was reluctant to pick up but he did anyway. In all honesty, he didn't want to talk to Andromeda, not at that moment. When he heard her voice though, that was enough to make him change his mind.

"Peter? I was wondering if you wanted to go out today…just me and you," Andromeda said.

Peter looked at the picture he had of Andromeda and thought about it. He wanted to see her and pretend she never even met Edward, but that was impossible. Still, he wanted to be with her, so he accepted. "Where to?" he asked.

"Just drive around, I guess," she replied.

It was Forks, there was nothing to do except go to the movies and sit in silence for two hours, which is not what she had in mind. They decided he would pick her up and the date was set for five in the afternoon. She got ready and fixed her hair and even used some of her water-resistant makeup, she never knew when it was going to rain there. She could watch the news but that would require her attention.

She waited for him and freaked out when the clock hit five and he wasn't there. "Do you think he won't come?" she asked her mom.

Her mom only laughed at her, "Annie, it's only one minute past five, now's not the time to worry."

"He's still late."

At three minutes past five Peter finally knocked on the door. Before her parents could even react, Andromeda quickly opened it and told them she'd be back by eight. Peter quickly followed her to his car, wondering why she was in such a hurry. She wasn't sure how to do it, so she was going to go with the blunt method.

"Peter, we need to talk," she said suddenly

This took Peter by surprise and he looked at his car, "Inside or outside the car?" he asked, still not registering what she had said. He then slowly realized what she meant and became serious. He shook his head and walked ahead of her, "I don't want to talk about it."

Andromeda hoped he wouldn't say that, but what could she expect. She got in the car with him and he started driving somewhere, anywhere really. It was silent, too silent in her opinion. She looked at Peter for a while, wanting to know what he was thinking. "I love you," she whispered.

He didn't respond. He only took a deep breath and gripped the wheel of his car. "I'm not in the mood for this," he finally said, keeping his eyes on the road. Andromeda tried reaching for his hand but he pulled away. He pulled over and stopped the car, not wanting to crash against a tree.

"Can we at least talk about it?" Andromeda asked

"Talk about what? You miss him, you still love him, what's there to talk about? I already know," Peter replied.

"You don't understand."

"I get it Andromeda, you care about the guy but you care about me too." He looked out the window and then back at her. "You want to talk about something? Try this: you make me feel like I'm not good enough, I'll always be second to Edward. How am I supposed to believe anything you say when you've lied to me so many times? Look, I'm sorry I'm not Edward, I'm sorry I don't treat you like shit, I'm sorry I don't choose another girl over you, I'm sorry that you're not just some secret to me."

Andromeda had never felt so guilty before. He was right; she'd been so awful to him so many times and he didn't leave her. He had treated her so well and she repays him with a knife on his back and another boy in her life. "You're not second to him," she said.

Peter only chuckled dryly and shook his head, "Another lie," he whispered.

Andromeda felt like she had no other choice, she did care about him, and she didn't want him thinking she was second in her heart. "Peter," she said, shivering. He turned to her, worried that he had been too harsh. He regretted saying what he did, for now she looked like she was going to cry.

Andromeda looked up at him, and saw he worried about her. She smiled and kissed him, glad that he still cared. "If you want, I mean, I haven't changed my mind, we could…"

It took a while for Peter to realize what she was talking about, but he did, and he didn't know how to react to it. "I already told you that's not going to solve anything," he said. He had already thought about it, and he knew it was a bad idea. It was bound to be a huge regret later on.

"I want to," she said, unsure. She thought she wanted to, maybe.

"Andromeda, sex isn't an apology."

"I know, and I don't want it to be an apology."

Andromeda wasn't sure what it was. Part of her was curious about it; the other part of her didn't actually want it. There were too many questions, and she didn't know whether or not she was ready. How does someone even know they're ready? She loved Peter, she knew that much, and she hurt him, so part of her wanted him to have it, but that would be apology. She just confused herself.

Peter was having his own conflict about it. He knew Edward wanted her first; the thought infuriated him to the point where he felt like accepting just so he would have the pleasure of taking away one of Edward's wishes. He was tired of him getting everything he wanted. On the other hand, he didn't want to hurt Andromeda, Edward did that enough. He knew she was only doing it because she felt guilty, and he couldn't take advantage of that, that'd be too cruel for any human to do.

"You won't hurt me," she said, still completely unsure.

Peter breathed out and looked around for a while before looking back at her, "Okay, we'll try it. If you change your mind then we don't have to do anything."

Andromeda never felt so nervous before, but nevertheless she nodded, "Okay," she whispered. Peter was in no hurry to take her, and neither was she. He tried talking to her about other things, so she could take her mind off that. It worked and soon they were talking movies and actors.

Weeks passed, and eventually months since that day, and Peter and Andromeda have done nothing. She was glad that they were taking it so slow, despite him agreeing to do it. There was also change in Bella. She was livelier now, and she even spoke to Andromeda more often.

Seeing Bella more upbeat helped Andromeda feel not as guilty about what she had done. It seemed Bella was finally starting to move on. It was slow of course, she still looked dead when she came to school, she barely spoke to anyone, she lost attention of things easily, and overall she had only gotten slightly better.

Andromeda wondered what the cause of this new change was. It couldn't be Mike; Bella still insisted he go after Jessica most of the time. It couldn't be the change in weather, which usually brought Bella down, not up. Andromeda knew it had to be someone new in her life, a new girl or boy as her friend, and knowing Bella it was probably a boy.

When the school day was done, Bella seemed to be glad she was going somewhere and quickly got to her car. Andromeda, who was parked next to her, was still curious about Bella's change and decided to ask her about it, "Where are you going?" she asked.

Bella fumbled with her keys before glancing at Andromeda, "Just going to visit a friend," she replied.

"I'm guessing not Jessica, she told me you were acting kind of strange that day you guys went out."

Bella smiled and looked away with some hint of real embarrassment. How she wished that Forks was bigger! "Yeah, I just had a weird moment." Bella didn't want to tell her how she heard Edward when she was in danger; how that was the reason she went to Jacob everyday so they could finish the bike.

Andromeda remembered something that Bella had once let her borrow. She went in and took out the CD from her player and gave it back to Bella, "Here, I forgot to give this back to you yesterday, I didn't like it very much. More lyrics and less screaming would've helped."

Bella smiled and nodded, "Sorry, Phil- I mean my stepfather gave it to me, he likes these things."

"See ya," Andromeda said and stepped into her car. Bella waved back at her and took off. Andromeda had to admit at that moment that she was still curious about who she was visiting. She decided to let it go and just continue with her day, which included an all paid study session with her father on American History.

She talked to Shane and Crystal on the phone on her way home and told them about some episode she saw on What Not to Wear. On her way home, she saw Bella walking with someone else. He was a tall boy from the reservation. So that was her new friend. Andromeda didn't mean to stumble upon them, she just did.

She decided to give Bella her privacy and just keep going. At this point, she didn't know the tan boy would wave at her as she passed by and motion her to stop. She stopped and stepped out to see who it was clearly, and found that it was someone she hadn't seen since she was fifteen and her sister proposed to him. "Jacob?" she asked.

He ran up to her and nodded, "Hey, did you bring Cat?" he asked and looked at the backseat. He took immediate notice of the car and started doing whatever he liked to do with cars.

"Sorry, you're fiancée isn't with me today," Andromeda replied and Jacob laughed.

Bella was confused as she heard the name Cat and the word fiancée. Bella noticed the two had a friendly exchange and she wondered where they've met before, probably La Push. "So, you guys know each other?" she asked.

Andromeda suddenly grew nervous; she had taken Edward away from her, now she was taking too much attention from Jacob. Well, actually Cat was, but still she shouldn't have stopped. Jacob didn't mind the question and found it perfectly normal, "Yeah, her family used to come down to La Push back then. Her little sister, Catherine, even proposed to me when I was thirteen years old, it was very flattering."

Andromeda smiled, "I told her boys who are nicer usually like her more, and she went ahead and proposed to Jacob since he wasn't always screaming like boys her age…I think. She was two so what she said is open for interpretation."

Jacob had somehow gotten into her and turned it on. He laughed with joy as soon as he hard the engine roar. "How's the boyfriend, Annie?" he asked.

"How do you know I have a boyfriend?" Andromeda asked back.

He took out a picture of her and Peter on one of their dates. "He's fine," she said and took the picture. Jacob got out of the car and patted the hood. He wasn't the first one to like the car, so she was used to car fans doing that. She waved them off and went back home, wondering if she could escape her father and watch Judge Judy instead.

Andromeda was somewhat glad that Bella had found someone new. Jacob was one of the nicest guys she knew, well, the last time she saw him he was. Of course, she couldn't help but feel that Andromeda was just using him to forget about Edward. She changed her mind and decided that Bella did move on a little bit and that her friendship with Jacob was helping her move along.

She got to her house and to her dismay, had to study with her father, in other words, no Judge Judy. They finished early though due to her father being invited to go fishing. Thomas had never gone fishing before, so who would invite him? Andromeda heard the doorbell and opened the door to see Charlie and Billy. "Dad! For you!" Andromeda yelled, going back into the house and to the kitchen.

Her father came down and greeted both the men. "I'll be home soon," he called out and Cat ran to hug him goodbye and good luck. The men commented on her age and reminisced about their children when they were Cat's age. Billy mentioned Jacob was a loud boy, always causing a mess too. Charlie on the other hand, said Bella was usually a quiet girl; then again she didn't enjoy Forks very much.

Thomas felt sorry for Charlie, he knew how much Charlie was trying to make Bella comfortable, but ever since Edward left she'd been so depressed he has no idea what to do. "Bye, bye!" Cat said, hugging her dad's leg.

"Cat, you're not going with them sweetie," her mother said and picked her up.

The girl complained and kicked against her, "Daddy!" she yelled and Thomas quickly went to explain to her why she couldn't come along. Billy and Charlie even helped, and they promised her once she was older she would get to come fishing with them. This calmed Cat down and she was taken to her play room.

"I'm leaving too!" Andromeda called and got her keys.

"What? Don't you have homework?" Thomas and Eliza asked.

"I'll do it later, promise," Andromeda said, "I just want to get some practice in and the studio's available."

They agreed to it and the three men and Andromeda left. Cat tried going with Andromeda again, but once again was explained that she would get bored by watching Andromeda dance and there were no toys or TVs at the ballet studio. Andromeda felt sorry for her little sister, but she knew once Cat began playing with her mother she would probably forget about the whole thing.

Once she got to the studio, she began to stretch. She looked at the mirrors often, realizing each time that something was different about her. Sometimes, she would look like a dancer, and she would imagine the world as her stage. Other times, she would see just Andromeda, the selfish, hypocritical, judgmental person she was.

She began dancing and tried to forget about what happened beyond the walls of the studio. She closed her eyes and once more she was on top of a stage. Her family was watching, along with her friends. There were more people dancing with her, but the crowd saw only her as she was the center of the dance. Peter was there too, and so was Jacob, and Mike, and Tyler, Lauren, Jessica, Angela, Bella, and even Edward. The Cullen family and the Hales were there too.

She heard the door open and suddenly her dream was interrupted. She turned to see Peter, and he looked around and smiled at her. He walked forward, surprised at the size of the studio, "Never seen one of these before," he commented. He looked at her outfit and slippers and chuckled, "Never seen you in one of those before either."

"You don't come to my practices," she said, smiling and walking towards the changing room.

"Hey, you don't come to mine either," he retorted

"That would take up my entire afternoon!"

"That only shows you how hard it is to be me."

Andromeda laughed and shook her head, "You're so full of yourself."

Peter pulled her into a hug and looked at the mirrors and then at her. He noticed something which was so trivial, that if any guy overheard he would've given him permission to call him gay, "You're wearing waterproof makeup," he said, more of a question than a statement.

Andromeda looked at him for a moment and laughed, "Look who's a makeup expert now," she said and he blushed. He chuckled as Andromeda went to change back into her clothes. She took her bag and just emptied it out and took what she needed; she'll handle the mess later.

Peter waited for her and took her hand as they left. "If I had known you'd look like that dancing, I would've skipped out on practice everyday," he said.

"If I'm not mistaken, are you flirting with me?" she asked, smiling.

He laughed and gave her a small kiss. He had only wanted to spend time with her, and therefore he drove her home. He decided to use her car, since he didn't really miss his old one compared to her Ferrari. Once they arrived at her house, she honestly didn't want to go inside.

"Cat's probably waiting for me with a stuffed animal," Andromeda muttered.

Peter heard her and laughed, "Come on, that's cute. My brother waits for me with a baseball bat and a hefty bag."

Andromeda smiled at him and rolled her eyes, "Your brother's okay, a little…rude, but okay."

They said their goodbyes and Andromeda went into her house where, just as she predicted, Cat was waiting for her with a toy and cookie. Cat handed the cookie to Andromeda, which Andromeda dreaded taking a bite, but her little sister kept mentioning how she and mommy made it, so Andromeda felt like it was the least she could do.

"Did you like it?" Cat asked.

"Of course I did," Andromeda said and handed her mom the cookie. She went over to Cat and gave her a quick kiss on her fat little cheek, "Good job, Kitty."

The rest of the night, she just talked to Shane and Crystal while finishing her homework, or at least giving an attempt. Her father came back with some fish, which surprised Andromeda since he's never caught anything before. He then explained it was actually Charlie's catch, but he wanted Cat and Andromeda to have some. Cat was amazed by the fish and wanted to touch them.

During the following days, nothing happened. It was already Friday again and this time it was Andromeda's responsibility to take Cat to the elementary school, which had a day care center. Cat didn't have to go actually, but her parents were going to be too busy to leave her in the house alone. On her way to Day Care, Andromeda spotted Jacob and decided to stop so Cat could see him again.

He noticed her as well and noticed the little girl sitting on the back. He smiled broadly and went to greet the girls. Andromeda got Cat out and let her walk around for a bit. "Hey!" Jacob greeted.

"Hi, I brought your fiancée," Andromeda and motioned her head towards Cat.

Cat smiled at him, not remembering at all who he was, but knowing if Andromeda knew him, then he was her friend too. "Who are you?" Cat asked and Jacob took a step back as if he were offended.

Cat laughed and mimicked him. Andromeda wondered how Cat had so much energy in the morning. Jacob only laughed and bent down to level with her. He was too tall of course, but at least now he could ruffle her hair without having to squint to see. "I'm Jacob, we used to be friends."

"We're not anymore?" she asked.

"Of course we are, I'm just hurt you didn't remember me."

"I'm sorry," Cat said, smiling.

"You know what? If you can slap my hand once, I'll forgive you."

"Okay!"

They started playing the game, which Cat delighted in. She's never been present with so hard of a challenge. Jacob dodged her clumsy hands twice and the third time he let her hit him. He made a big show on how he lost, which made her feel like she was even more of a winner. Andromeda laughed the entire time and cheered Cat on.

After Jacob had lost he outstretched his hand and Cat took it, "Friends?"

"Yep," Cat replied.

"We're going to be late," Andromeda said and put Cat back in the car. Cat kept asking for someone to get her Guppy, which she named her stuffed bunny. She soon started making a fuss about it, and unbuckled herself until she got Guppy. "You're too old for this," Andromeda muttered and tried putting on the seatbelt again.

She slapped Andromeda's hand and Andromeda just gave up and let her do what she wanted. "Aw come on, she just wants her toy," Jacob said and went around the car to look for it. He found the toy underneath the seat, where Cat had kicked it after making a fuss on having to go to Day Care. She wanted to go to school, but that wasn't until next semester that she would start.

Jacob handed her the toy and her frown turned into a smile and she buckled herself up. "Thanks," Andromeda said.

"No problem, she's just as adorable as ever," Jacob said.

"Just wait until she grows up, she's going to be spoiled rotten," Andromeda said.

"Aren't you like that now?"

"Hey!"

Jacob laughed, "I'm just saying."

She noticed he was carrying some car part and he explained it was a keycode receiver since he was working on installing an alarm on his new truck. He also muttered something about getting new radiators. Before Andromeda knew it, he was saying a bunch of numbers with names and explaining how he was going to use them. Jacob stopped when he saw the how clueless Andromeda was about cars.

"I like the movie Cars," Cat interrupted.

"Me too," Jacob said, smiling

"Jacob, are you still going to marry me?"

Jacob looked at Andromeda and pointed at Cat, "How'd she remember that?"

"I don't really know," Andromeda said, surprised herself.

Nevertheless Jacob said he would marry her, "In twenty years, just like I promised," he finished. Cat sat back down completely and Andromeda finally left for the day care. She dropped Catherine off and made sure she had a lunch, some money, and extra underwear in case she wet herself while taking a nap. Cat was embarrassed and didn't want Andromeda mentioning that she still wet the bed.

She took Cat to the room she was staying in and went to school afterwards. She saw Bella parked nearby and went to say hi. "Hey, I saw Jacob on the way here," Andromeda said.

Bella looked back and then at her, and for once in a long time, truly smiled. "Yeah, he wanted to drive me to school and see how the truck was doing," Bella explained. That made sense to Andromeda; usually she didn't see Jacob around the schools.

She wanted to ask Bella about Edward, if she was feeling better about it, but decided to let it go. She didn't want to remind Bella of him and cause her any more suffering, especially when someone was finally making her smile again. Bella never forgot about Edward though, how could she, he had broken her heart so badly and she still loved him. She wondered if Edward thought of her, or if he truly did forget.

Before Andromeda could ask what was bothering her, the bell rung. Andromeda walked to class with Shane and Crystal, who were talking about making new outfits in the theatre department. This actually interested Andromeda, mostly because they wanted to show her how to make a dress.

"It's not as easy as it looks, but it's not like mind debilitating hard," Crystal said and Shane agreed.

"I really want to make one of those dresses from Lord of the Rings, the movie was too action based for me but I adored their outfits," Shane said.

"I want to wear the dresses from Lord of the Rings," Andromeda said, "Maybe I can make one for Cat, she's small so that should be easier…right?"

"Sure," they both agreed, not wanting to burst any bubbles. They got to class and started passing notes back and forth. Not just Shane and Crystal, but Jessica and Lauren as well, and though Angela didn't like to gossip, she went ahead and read the notes as well. Tyler, Eric, and Mike were laughing about something in their notes while the girls seemed to be plotting something.

Andromeda noticed the way they kept staring at her and whispering things. She doubted they were gossiping about her, they already exhausted that in junior high, now they were planning to do something with her. She missed the times when they gossiped about how sad it was that she was trying to get Mike's attention and how they also insulted a lot of girls in the class, one time including Angela.

Her fourth period ended and she went to lunch. She didn't buy a big lunch and the cafeteria ladies always tried to get her to eat more. "Ballerinas need to be fit, but they don't need eating disorders," one of them said. Andromeda only smiled and dismissed the concern.

Her friends were eating and chatting away about some movie they recently watched, but Andromeda couldn't help but feel that Jessica and company was looking at her. For a moment, she wondered if it was Jessica who knew about her and Edward. She dismissed the thought, not finding enough evidence in it.

Lauren and Jessica stood up and walked towards Andromeda, Shane, and Crystal. Shane stopped eating and Crystal stared wide-eyed. "Andromeda, can we talk to you?" Jessica said.

Andromeda felt like some kind of force made her nod and she stood up. Shane and Crystal stood up as well only to be stopped by Lauren, "Only Andromeda," she emphasized. Shane and Crystal scoffed and looked at her like she was joking.

"Sweetie, she's going to tell us anyway, so might as well just let us listen," Shane said.

"Either way, we know," Crystal said.

Andromeda said no argument about that and actually confirmed it to be true. Jessica decided that there was no point in hiding it from them, and knowing Crystal didn't like Bella very much, it actually might work for her. "Well," Jessica began, "You talk to Bella, right? I saw you this morning."

"Yeah," Andromeda said, wondering what they were up to, "So?"

"So, we need you to do something for us."

"Exactly, what?"

Lauren smiled and answered for Jessica, "We want you to break her apart."

Both Shane and Crystal stared wide-eyed at them and Andromeda was trying to understand what was going on. They wanted her to do something mean to Bella. "What do you mean?" she asked, her voice quivering.

"We want Bella to know what it feels like to be second, for her to know what it's like to be rejected by someone you care about or someone you try to befriend," Jessica explained.

"We tried being her friend in the beginning of the year, but she only ditches to sit with Cullen, whenever we did something nice she looks at us like we were dogs!" Lauren added.

"She especially treats Mike that way. Let's face it; Bella is nothing but a bitch."

Andromeda didn't know exactly how to respond to that. She remembered Bella sitting with them at first, and she thought Jessica actually encouraged her to sit with Edward. Andromeda couldn't argue that Bella did take advantage of Mike's kindness towards her, but she probably didn't realize it. "Why me?" she asked.

They looked at her as if the answer were obvious, which in their opinion, including Shane and Crystal's, it was. "Hello? You're buddies now aren't you? And weren't you seeing Edward too?" Jessica asked. Andromeda realized that even though that was a question, Jessica already knew the answer. "You're perfect for the job. You talk to Bella more than any of us do because Edward was cheating on her with you and she thinks you guys were just friends…how sad."

"Please stop," Andromeda suddenly said, guilt starting to rise in her chest.

"It's so sad to see Bella love a guy who would cheat on her, maybe she'll believe he'd do that once she saw these," Lauren said and held out three pictures of Andromeda and Edward in the parking lot and the side of the school.

Crystal gasped and Shane was so in shock he couldn't even open his mouth, "Where did you get those?" Crystal asked for Andromeda, who was also in a state of shock.

"I know some people who work for the school, they caught it on the campus cameras," Lauren explained.

"What do you want me to do?" Andromeda asked. She didn't want to do to Bella, she figured Bella had been through enough. But if she didn't, then they would show these to her and then what? She couldn't imagine how heartbroken Bella would be if proved that her and Edward had been seeing each other the entire time.

"Simple, we just want you to hang out with her until we text you pretending we're Edward, and we say we want to see you. I'll mention not to tell Bella and I'll give a small hint of how much Edward loves you over her," Jessica said, "That's enough to break her heart."

"How is she even going to see the text?" Shane asked.

"Andromeda's going to drop her phone after as she goes to check whose it's from and Bella, being the nice girl she is, will pick it up and catch who the message is from and read it," Lauren explained.

"We've even prepared emails from him, in case she doesn't believe it the first time," Jessica added.

Andromeda barely heard what they said, too distracted with the pictures. She kept looking at them until she realized that in all these pictures, they were either just hugging, or he was comforting her after she cried. Bella would excuse them by saying he was just trying to be a good friend, and Andromeda now had no reason to do those things to Bella. "Forget it," she finally said, "Bella's already heartbroken enough that Edward left her."

"So? She didn't care about how I felt when Mike ditched me for her!" Jessica snapped.

"She knew I liked Tyler and she still let him believe he was taking her to prom, how do you think I felt about that!" Lauren snapped as well.

"Ever since she came here, all the boys have paid attention to only her, the rest of us are just second best. Mike only asked me out because Bella rejected for the umpteenth time, and Tyler only asked Lauren out for the same reason!"

"Eric didn't even consider Angela until he was rejected by Bella himself," Lauren added, "Until she came along, we used to actually have a chance with the boys in this school, but now we're just second to Bella, because she's the prettiest, smartest, most best girl in the school."

Andromeda scoffed and shook her head, "So you're jealous? Because all I'm hearing is you two whining about how Bella has it all, I'm sorry, but that's still not a good reason," Andromeda said and Shane felt like applauding her and Crystal gave her a nod of approval.

Andromeda sat back down and turned her back towards them, not wanting to deal with anymore non-existent conflict these girls had with Bella. To sum up all their talk, they were jealous. It sounded reasonable, since everything they said was true, so of course they would be jealous, but jealousy isn't a good reason to want to break Bella down to tears.

Andromeda doubted the plan would really work. Things seldom turn out the way they're supposed to because there's always some little thing they missed. What if Bella didn't read the text? What if someone else picked it up for her and decided not to tell Bella what it was? There were so many things that could happen that the idea over all, in Andromeda's opinion, was stupid.

Jessica and Lauren had already thought of that, of course. That's why they were going to make sure that it was Bella who got the text, and no one else. The only thing they couldn't control was Andromeda. In the end, they knew it was up to Andromeda to pull off the plan. If they just got her on their side though, then that wouldn't be a problem.

"You want to know something Annie?" Lauren began, "You were Peter's second choice too. He asked Bella out to the dance before he even considered you. Actually, he only took notice of you because he was so bummed out that Bella had rejected him so flatly."

Shane and Crystal knew they were starting to push her buttons to get to join them. Of course every guy wanted to go to the dance with her, but only a few actually asked her out. Andromeda listened though, despite her best trying to ignore her. She didn't know it, but she was slowly being persuaded quite efficiently.

"You know what else? You were Edward's second choice too." Lauren smiled as she finally saw reaction from Andromeda, she knew she was getting to her. "Think about it, Peter, who you care about so much, didn't even want to bother with you at first until Bella broke his heart. And don't even get me started with Edward."

Shane saw Andromeda slowly sink down into a deep sadness that threatened to engulf her. Okay, maybe he was being melodramatic, but he had never seen Andromeda that way before. Crystal noticed it too, and grew worried.

"You met him first didn't you?" Lauren said, "But he chose Bella over you anyway. He kept you a dirty little secret, and he barely looked at you twice on your birthday, but on Bella's birthday, he threw her a big party. Do you really think he cares about that much about you? He looks at Bella, not you. He holds Bella's hands, not yours. He drives Bella to school, and just forgets about you. He probably only kept you around since you seemed so sad chasing after Mike, who by the way, also chose Bella first. You know what else is really sad? You actually cared about him, didn't you? You've always been second, and you always will be second."

The words rang bitterly true through Andromeda's mind, and she finally let a stubborn tear go. She stood up, "Just be quiet," she said and walked away. She left the cafeteria and soon started running to the parking lot. Shane and Crystal knew how much she struggled with whether Edward cared about her or not, and it seemed Lauren, who had guessed most of the information, pushed her over the edge. They went after her, trying to figure out how to console her.

Lauren and the rest felt some guilt at making her cry, but they felt confident that Andromeda would soon be on their side. "She'll come back," Lauren assured. Jessica on the other hand, wasn't so sure that she would, and Angela felt like she shouldn't. Angela wanted to speak out against what they were doing, but was too shy to, and Jessica, who had once been friends with Andromeda, was tempted to tell her that it wasn't necessary. Jessica and Angela both walked away, guilt clearly climbing on their backs.

Mike saw what had happened and decided to go after Andromeda as well. He found her in the parking lot, crying with her two friends by her side. He didn't know what they were talking about, but he knew it had to be pretty bad to make her cry like this. "Annie, are you okay? Don't listen to them in there," Mike said, walking up to her.

She looked up at him and then looked away, embarrassed. "It's nothing, I'm fine," she said and tried fixing herself up.

"Do you want to go to the nurse?" Mike asked, ready to offer his assistance.

"No," she said, chuckling, "I'll be fine, really."

Mike wasn't so sure but he nodded and went back inside. He needed to talk to those girls, they were going too far. Andromeda calmed down and sighed as she thought about her makeup, but then she realized she put on waterproof and silently thanked what little common sense she had.

"I'm leaving," she decided. She looked at them for a moment and took a deep breath, "I want to go alone," she clarified. Shane and Crystal, particularly Crystal, wasn't sure this was a good idea, but nevertheless they let her. They go back to their lunch period, talking about the movie they watched and pretending nothing happened for Andromeda.

Andromeda took her car and drove to the first place she knew she could relax. She arrived at the dance studio and decided to change into her dance clothes. She started with a Grand Jete and moved on to a Fouette Jete. She continued dancing and did one of her favorite moves, the arabesque penchee. She thought about what they wanted to do to Bella, and despite everything Lauren said, she didn't know if she could pull through with it. Part of her wanted to do it though, it wished to get revenge on Bella, but she knew that part was unjust.

Bella wasn't to blame for anything, and she shouldn't be plotted against for doing nothing wrong. It was difficult though, not to want to join Lauren and Jessica, for even though she had caused Bella pain, Bella had inflicted more pain on Andromeda that can't even compare. 'Bella didn't know about anything,' Andromeda thought.

She didn't want to blame Bella, so she instead started blaming Edward. It was truly his fault; it was he, not Bella, which had caused her to cry so much. Still, for some reason he hoped he would come in through that door and comfort her like he used to. She had never been so confused before. She stayed in the studio until it was starting to reach her curfew. She knew her mother had picked Cat up, so she didn't have to worry about that. So she just stayed and danced and sometimes looked in the mirrors. She looked more different than she ever had.

* * *

**So, so far, Peter has accepted Andromeda's offer, Catherine is engaged to Jacob (she thinks and probably forgets) and the part you just read.**

**Yeah I know, I can probably shorten the chapters, but I've always preferred to keep them long for several reasons and one of my favorite reasons is due to emotional exploration. **

**I've been reading the comments and yes, as you all may you know, Edward will return, but remember that wasn't even until the end of New Moon. I'm pretty excited about writing the end though, since I'm done with the main ideas and bit of the rough draft. Sorry for my spelling errors and gramatical mistakes, I usually read my work twice, but sometimes I don't catch things.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Plz Review! :D**


	14. Cold Kiss

**Chapter 14 and 15 in one day :D**

**They were actually supposed to be one chapter, but it turned out to be too long, so once again, I split them up. I'll try to start cutting down on chapter lengths, because I don't want to make it seem impossible to read it all.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

* * *

Days had passed since that day, and Andromeda refused to think about it. She was still caught in conflict on what to do, and thinking about it will only worsen it. It was wrong, what Jessica and Lauren wanted to do, and they had no good reason except for jealousy. The things jealousy makes people do though, so she could she blame them for wanting vengeance?

Andromeda pushed it aside once again and went back to studying her Spanish. She hadn't talked to Peter in those days, Lauren's words running through her head every time she thought of Peter. Andromeda knew she was Edward's second choice, but she never knew Peter also was infatuated with Bella, and only went out with Andromeda because he was rejected.

She shouldn't have been angry at him, she had done much worse, but the anger and envy came. Bella…it felt like Forks revolved around her. She was the talk of the town before she came, she was the shiny new toy once she was here, and now she's still the object of everyone's affection. Andromeda on the other hand, didn't exist, she didn't even exist to Peter until Bella rejected him and he was forced to look the other way.

When she turned eighteen, it was just another day. When Bella turned eighteen, it was national holiday. Andromeda was finding it harder and harder to convince herself not to be jealous of her; Andromeda had never been one of jealousy. It was hard for her though, since she knew she was not only Edward's first choice, she was also Peter's. She was Mike's first choice as well, along with Tyler's and Eric's.

She heard a knock on the door and turned to see it was her mother. "Annie, Shane and Crystal are here, they're worried about you…we all are actually," she said.

Andromeda nodded and stood up from her books, "Okay," she said quietly, walking towards the door.

"Annie, what's wrong? This isn't like you at all, you're not talking, you're studying, you're not being Annie."

"I'm fine mom; I just have a lot on my mind."

Her mother sighed. This is why she hated high school, kids always over complicated things and just created drama when it could be easily avoided. Of all the things that change with time, can't high school drama be one of them? And why, of all people, did it have to affect her daughter the most? No mother wants to see her child in any type of pain at any age.

Andromeda went downstairs and heard her father was talking to Charlie over the phone. It was obvious since he asked how Bella was. She saw Shane and Crystal waiting for her in front of the T.V, watching an episode of Spongebob with Cat. "Hey," Andromeda said.

They turned around and hurried to her. "Annie, you haven't talked to anyone for days, does this thing really have you that messed up?" Crystal asked, showing genuine concern.

"We're getting really worried, even Mike's noticed you're being all emo," Shane added.

"I'm not emo, just confused," Andromeda replied, looking down at the floor.

Shane and Crystal looked at each other and nodded. They went to the upstairs game room with Andromeda and sat her down. They had no idea how they were going to help out, considering Lauren and Jessica were being pretty serious about the stupid idea. It had such a slim chance of working that honestly Crystal only laughed at it. Shane on the other hand, didn't think that the whole deal was bothering Andromeda, he knew it was what Lauren had said.

The only reason she would consider doing something she knows won't work is due to Lauren, who had gotten her successfully envious of Bella. That was the struggle, he figured, not so much whether or not to do it, but whether it was right for her to be jealous of Bella. He thought she was right to at least think about, because in a way, Bella was rude to Jessica and company but it wasn't Andromeda's problem.

"What Lauren said…" Shane began.

"It's true," Andromeda finished.

"No way, the Peter part can't be true; he was crazy for you from the start! He got all googly eyed when he saw you in Biology," Crystal said.

"He probably got all googly eyed when he saw Bella too."

Crystal sighed, "So what? All the guys did, they didn't really like her, they just saw she was new and their penises went crazy over nothing."

"Please don't mention any part of the human anatomy right now, I have another thing dealing with that," Andromeda said, leaning back on the couch.

Crystal and Shane looked at each, feeling like they missed something, which they probably did. 'Why would Annie even be dealing with the human body?' they thought and realized what it must be. Crystal gasped and Shane looked in shock. "Annie, tell me you're still our little virgin," Shane said.

"I am," she said, looking down, "but…"

"Oh. My. God." Crystal mouthed. It was too shocking for them to talk about now, so they pushed it aside for later, but they were going to make sure questions would be asked. Crystal sat down next to her and Shane settled next to Crystal, but then realized he couldn't provide much support for Andromeda from there and so moved to Andromeda's other side.

"You know Annie, it's okay to be jealous sometimes, sure, too much is bad, but you know what they say, jealousy and love are sisters," Crystal said.

"It's not a little bit of jealousy though…I envy her so much," Andromeda said, "I've never felt so angry at someone for that reason before."

"Anger and jealousy are also related," Shane said.

"It's true what they said, Bella gets everything. Everything that any girl would want and try to get in years she got in a day! She got every boy in the school to gawk over her; she got Peter to ask her out and Edward to be her boyfriend…"

Shane raised his eyebrow and looked at Andromeda, "So that's what the jealousy is about? Peter and Edward. Makes sense, you gave up on being popular when we were in junior high."

Crystal smiled and put her arm around Andromeda, "That's also when we became friends…well, you know, real friends, we've known each since diaper times."

Andromeda smiled and remembered those times. She couldn't help remember her friendship with Jessica as well, how horribly it ended. She wished she could help Jessica, after all, she knew how Jessica felt. It hurts to be second to someone else in the eyes of someone you care about, but Jessica was just taking it too far.

Lauren also had reason to dislike Bella, for Bella did completely leave them despite their warm welcoming. Bella also treated Tyler badly during the school year, yet Tyler continued pursuing her. Still, Lauren was also taking it too far. Then there was the anger Andromeda was feeling, Bella taking Edward, and Peter crushing on her first.

Andromeda had already talked herself out of feeling betrayed by Peter. Crystal was right, all the boys liked her at first, and it was a normal thing. He was just attracted to her like a boy was attracted to a new toy. The fact is that Peter no longer even looked at her twice. He cared about Andromeda now, not her, and he had proven himself repeatedly, something Andromeda hasn't done for him.

She couldn't talk herself out of Edward though. She was nothing more than a tool to him, she knew that much, what she didn't know is what he was using her for. Edward had a chance of being with Andromeda first, he had the chance before she even met Peter, before he even spoke twice to Bella, but he chose Bella.

"I can't do it," Andromeda finally decided. Yes, Bella had been an awful friend to Jessica, Lauren, and Angela, but that wasn't Andromeda's battle, and Bella actually was kind to her. On top of that, if they thought about it, Bella didn't have any friends now. She focused so much on Edward that when he left, she was alone. Even Andromeda felt sorry for her. She can't do something pointlessly cruel to someone who has lost everything important to her.

"You're making the better choice," Shane said, hugging Andromeda.

"I agree," Crystal said, "I love group hugs."

"And you know what Annie? Peter loves you, he doesn't notice Bella anymore, and Edward is gone, and I doubt he's coming back. There's no reason for you to feel jealous."

Andromeda relaxed, a decision being made. She wished she had been able to make it a couple of days ago because now her teachers were starting to expect good grades. Weren't finished assignments enough? Of course she'd exhausted the possibilities, but somehow her friend's presence put it into perspective for her, and she was glad she had them.

"So," Shane started, "what about your virginity?"

Shane and Crystal looked at her for some time and she looked away, not knowing how to explain it to them. "Well…we're going to try," she said simply. Hopefully that was enough of an answer; usually it wasn't, but maybe this time.

Not this time either. They urged her to go on but she said no more. "Annie, there's no trying, it's either it happens or it doesn't, there's no middle ground when it comes down to that," Crystal finally said.

"It's not like you can screw up the first time and say, 'Oops, I'll try it again with some other guy', once it's gone, it's gone. Are you sure you want to do that?" Shane asked.

"…I don't know," Andromeda murmured.

"This is a serious decision!" Crystal said.

"I know, but can we please stop talking about it!"

They could see how distressed Andromeda was about it and decided not to mention anything else. Shane knew Andromeda wouldn't do anything too irrational, and would at least look it up before taking a step. He and Crystal just wished she would talk to her parents. Crystal, in particular, was tempted to shoo Shane away to talk to her.

Shane understood what Crystal was thinking by the look on her face and excused himself. After he left, Andromeda looked away, not wanting to think about it. "You know Annie…I didn't get a choice," Crystal said, looking down.

Andromeda did know, everyone knew, they just didn't talk about it. It was impossible to ignore what had happened to Crystal, and Andromeda understood why she was so worried about Andromeda making the wrong decision. She decided to stop being so stubborn and listen to Crystal. "I know," Andromeda said quietly.

It felt awkward between them. Crystal never mentioned anything about her past; after all, she didn't want to be a sob story. She didn't want people excusing her 'weird' behavior because she had it tough as a kid. Crystal bit her lip and prepared to tell Andromeda what she hadn't even told Shane yet.

"I was fourteen years old," she began, "I thought since I'd already done it once, then doing it again won't matter. It did matter. I felt guilty, angry at myself, sad, and most of all, regret. I wanted to take it back but I couldn't, I tried to pretend it didn't happen, but the feeling was still there." Crystal looked at Andromeda and shook her head, "Don't do it if you know you're not ready."

"How am I supposed to know if I'm ready?" Andromeda asked, sympathy beginning to settle on her.

Crystal's lips quivered and she looked away, shaking her head, "How am I supposed to know? I was never ready…I never got that opportunity."

Andromeda understood the impacts it had on Crystal, but she didn't know if it would have the same impacts on her. After all, everyone was different weren't they? Of course it had a negative impact on Crystal, she was fourteen, and she was previously violated before then, but Andromeda was eighteen, and she was in love with Peter.

Still the fact remained that the negative impacts could happen to anyone, and Andromeda acknowledged that. Despite her older age, she was still too immature to handle something like that, but that much she didn't know. Crystal, on the other hand, already realized that age was just a number, and it really depended on the person and their maturity. Age and maturity usually went hand and hand, but Crystal knew that you can be eighteen years old and still not ready for a decision like that. Especially with a girl like Annie, who had been sheltered her entire life.

"Just wait until you're like…twenty," Crystal finally said, returning to her old self, "I don't want you to be one of those stupid girls like me who thinks she's ready and it ends up screwing her up for life…pun intended."

Andromeda chuckled and shook her head. She didn't know how to respond so she just called Shane back. Once he was back, they spoke of more pleasant things, like what Lady Gaga was wearing. Shane was a huge fan of Lady Gaga, and Crystal was slowly starting to like her to, Andromeda hadn't listened to her music yet, but the way Shane described her, she didn't know if she should.

Once they left, Andromeda found she had nothing to do. Her mother though, saw an immediate improvement in her behavior and told her to have something to eat. "Peter called," her mother informed, "He sounded upset, were you two in a fight or something?"

"No, I was just avoiding him," Andromeda replied, starting to feel guilty, "I'll call him back."

"Alright, if that's what you want."

Her mother left to tend to Cat and her father finally managed to put the newspaper down, shaking his head. "There are some murders going on," he stated, "I don't want you being out too late Annie." He decided to set a new curfew, basically, just be home before the sun goes down. In Forks, that wasn't a lot of time.

Andromeda didn't mind the new curfew, and quite honestly didn't want to be out when people were getting killed. She finished her food and went upstairs and finally called Peter. The call wasn't very long, and it was awkward, since Andromeda didn't know how to explain her concern. She didn't want Peter to know about the Bella thing and she definitely didn't want him to know that she was previously angry at him.

It was already getting late and Cat entered her room. Andromeda wondered what Cat was doing up so late at night, but pushed the thought aside. "Cat?" she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Cat said, getting comfortable on Andromeda's bed, "It's so boring!"

Andromeda laughed at her younger sister's attempt to act more like a teenager. Cat realized that her attempt didn't work and just went back to being a kid. "Let's go visit Jacob again!" she said, jumping on the bed.

"Later," Andromeda promised and picked the girl up. She set Cat in her room and called her mother to tuck her in. Afterwards, Andromeda thought it'd be a good idea to go to sleep herself.

After she was done getting ready, she kept looking at the window, hoping to see someone there, but of course, nothing was there. Edward wasn't coming back, and if he did, he wouldn't come back to her first. It felt like years since he had left, and Andromeda was gradually getting over him.

She thought about how Bella was doing. Luckily, with Jacob, she was sure that Bella was slowly starting to move on as well. Bella still was a long way from getting over him by the way she acted. Andromeda was starting to hear people saying that Bella tried to commit suicide a few times though, and Andromeda wondered if this was true, and if it was, why no one got help for Bella.

She lied down on the bed and thought of all the times Edward had kissed her. She still loved him, her Romeo, but just like Romeo was dead when Juliet woke up, Edward was gone from her life. She eventually went to sleep, and for the first time since he left, dreamt of Edward.

She was spinning, bumping into people wherever she turned. She saw him walking away and called out his name. He seemed to have heard her for he stopped walking and turned around. She managed to catch up with him and he embraced her. She felt something cold pressing lightly against her lips and suddenly woke up.

She looked around the room and saw nothing was there. 'And I thought Bella was the one who might need help,' Andromeda thought, lying back down. She couldn't believe she just imagined Edward kissing her…a dream Edward at that. She sighed and closed her eyes again. She was not going to let herself start hallucinating, she wasn't that crazy, or at least she hoped she wasn't. Quickly though, she fell asleep once more.

The next day at school was strange. Jessica had invited Andromeda, Shane, and even Crystal to sit at their table. They were very skeptical at first, but Andromeda agreed when it was obvious Jessica wasn't up to anything funny. In reality, it was just the opposite, Jessica felt guilty about making Andromeda cry, and the remnants of their past friendship led Jessica to try to make amends with Andromeda.

The table, surprisingly enough, was actually kind towards Andromeda and her friends, especially Mike, who was still concerned about Andromeda. Peter was sitting with Ryan at another table filled with baseball players and they both waved at them, surprised that they would be sitting with Mike's group.

"Crystal, I really like how you do your hair," Angela commented.

Crystal shrugged and poked at her hair, "Thanks, it takes me less than tens minutes, the secret is just keeping your bed hair and putting on random things until it looks good enough to leave the house."

Angela laughed, "That's funny; I have to straighten my hair though. I'm not that risky."

"Ten minutes, you female dog in heat, it takes me like half an hour to get ready," Shane said.

"That's because you're so picky!" Crystal exclaimed.

"Yeah, aren't you like a girl?" Jessica asked.

"I actually do like a lot of things that guys like, I just usually have more in common with girls," Shane clarified.

"Whoa, I get you're gay and we're cool with that, but let's not talk about that, it's um…kinda awkward," Tyler said

"Yeah," the rest of the guys agreed.

"Okay, I won't mention it, and don't worry, I don't find a single one of you attractive."

Andromeda and Crystal giggled and Mike smiled at Andromeda. It was strange; Mike was suddenly being kinder to Andromeda. She wasn't thinking much of it, even though she had to admit, he still made her heart beat faster. She looked back and Peter and smiled at him, which he returned. She was the one who urged him to sit with his friends, since she noticed he was giving too much attention to her, and therefore, losing his friends.

The school day ended after gym and Andromeda wondered why they even bothered to make the students play basketball, most just threw the ball whenever they wanted to. She was stopped by Jessica, who surprised her, and she considered maybe Jessica was trying to be friends again.

"Annie, I want to apologize, about what Lauren said. If you don't want to do it, I won't make you," Jessica said, sounding sincere.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Andromeda replied, "But, since you mention it, I really don't want to do that."

Jessica nodded with understanding and left. She walked with Angela to her car and waved goodbye at Andromeda. Andromeda was glad that Jessica acknowledged her choice; all she had to do was worry about Lauren now. She decided to worry later and got to her car.

Once she got home she saw her father getting ready to leave. He usually wasn't home that early, and she wondered why he would be there now. "Where are you going?" Andromeda asked, curious. Her mother smiled and gave Cat another piece of a cake Cat had wanted.

"I'm going over to visit Charlie; he's really worried about Bella and maybe I could give him some company," Thomas replied.

"Your dad and Charlie are best friends now, if you can believe it," her mother said.

"You're welcome," Cat interrupted, knowing it was because of her that Charlie and Thomas even spoke for more than one minute.

"Maybe you can come with me? You and her are in the same grade," he said.

"I wanna go!" Cat said, already working her way down from the chair. Andromeda smiled at her sister, and thought about going with her father to visit Bella and Charlie. She actually liked the idea. She had never met Charlie personally and she also now had an opportunity to see how Bella was doing.

Andromeda began to nod and decided to accept, "Sure," she said. She put her books down and went to her father's side.

"I wanna go too!" Cat said.

"Let's go take a nap, okay Cat?" Eliza said, picking the girl up

"No! I wanna go!"

"It's okay Lizzy, she can come."

They looked at each other for a moment and Eliza put the girl down and let her run to her father. The three of them took off and Cat kept complaining about the seat belt hurting her neck. She tried taking it off several times, and Andromeda had to put it on again. Eventually, Andromeda just went to the back and made sure her sister's seat belt was on.

They arrived at the Swan's house and Cat quickly went off and ran towards the door. "Let her," Thomas said, "It'll be a surprise for Charlie."

"You're nice, dad," Andromeda said sarcastically.

"You know it."

Charlie opened the door and looked down to see a jumping Cat. He laughed and greeted Thomas and let them all in. Andromeda liked Charlie's house, it was very warm and homey. There were pictures of Bella and her mother, Renee, around the house which Cat took with great interest. "Is this Bella?" Cat asked, pointing at a picture of Bella when she was about Cat's age.

"Sure is," Charlie said and ruffled Cat's hair.

Cat giggled and went around the house, exploring what she could. Andromeda wondered if Charlie found that rude and if she should chase after Cat, but as long as he didn't bring it up, she figured it'd be fine. Bella came down, wondering what the noise was and saw Andromeda.

The first thing Andromeda saw on her face was despair, then embarrassment. "Hey Bells, you know Tom, he brought Andromeda, so you know…maybe you guys can talk," Charlie said, sounding very uncomfortable. Andromeda wondered he sounded that way when he was talking to Bella. She guessed it was because he had never actually had her living in the house before until just last year, and he was still learning how to communicate with a teenage girl.

"If you want, we could go outside, Cat's getting hyper anyway," Andromeda offered.

Bella looked at her, puzzled. "You brought a cat?" she asked.

Andromeda laughed and Bella turned red, "No, Catherine, she's my little sister."

"I'm here!" Cat said, coming into the room after hearing Andromeda say her name.

Bella didn't really know what to say, so she agreed. This relieved Charlie, he knew Andromeda was a good girl and that she had befriended Edward, maybe she could make Bella feel better. They went outside while Charlie and Thomas headed for the living room. Bella wasn't sure what to say, she had never had anyone come to her house before.

"Do you have cookies?" Cat asked Bella.

"I don't know, you can ask Charlie if you want," Bella replied, not sure if she should use some type of baby talk.

Andromeda smiled, and shooed Cat towards their father, "Sorry, she's always hungry," Andromeda said.

"That's okay," Bella replied.

The two stayed in silence for a while, looking away to avoid the awkwardness. "So," Andromeda began, "How've you be been lately? I've heard you've gotten better since…" Andromeda stopped as soon as she saw Bella's face twist in pain and immediately apologized.

"It's nothing," Bella said, starting to sound monotone.

Bella felt the hole in her chest open up and turned away. Andromeda didn't know exactly how to console her, since she didn't want to remind her of Edward, but she didn't know how else. She remembered Jacob, whom Bella had befriended and was spending an increasing amount of time with.

Jessica and Lauren were passing by and spotted the two of them talking. "Wow, I didn't expect it to be this perfect," Lauren said and stopped three houses away. Jessica questioned what she was doing but Lauren ignored her and pulled out her cell phone. "What are you doing?" Jessica asked, looking at Andromeda and Bella.

"What I planned to do," Lauren replied, typing the message.

Jessica realized what Lauren was planning and tried stopping her, "She said she didn't want to do it, and she doesn't have to. Plus, her phone won't say it's from Edward, she'll it's your number."

"Actually," Lauren began, "Remember that day she sat with us? Well, I managed to borrow her phone from her purse for a few seconds and type my number in, so don't worry, I have that covered."

Lauren stopped a kid that was getting his baseball after throwing it and whispered something to him. He nodded and went across the street and closer the Bella and Andromeda. He usually aimed well, and was confident. Lauren hit the send button and looked.

Andromeda got the text in a matter of seconds and started grabbing it out of her pocket. 'Is it mom?' she thought as she pulled the phone out. The boy threw the ball towards her and the ball landed against her hand, knocking the phone down next to Bella's feet. Andromeda held her hand, which ached from the hit, and looked at the phone.

"I'll pick it up, you're hand's hurt," Bella said and started picking it up.

Andromeda realized what it was and immediately tried to stop Bella, "Wait! I'll get it!" she said, bending down as well.

Bella wondered why she was so urgent to get it and saw from the corner of her eye the message came from someone whose name started with an E. Bella saw the second letter, which was a D. Bella knew that Andromeda had been friends with Edward, she also knew that there was a rumor that they were seeing each other, and now she saw a message which she was strangely trying to prevent Bella from seeing. This only made Bella want to pick it faster.

They hit their heads against each other, each one trying to pick up the phone first. Lauren was smiling, seeing it work out almost perfectly. Jessica, on the other hand, urgently got out her phone and texted whatever nonsense came to mind to Andromeda. She quickly hit send and looked back at the two girls, who were still getting over the hit on the head.

The phone vibrated again and Bella managed to pick it up. She saw the message came from Jessica, not Edward, and out of curiosity, opened it. It was a simple message of Jessica asking where Andromeda thought Bella might've gotten her shirt, because it was really cute. Bella relaxed and handed the phone to Andromeda.

"I'm so sorry," Andromeda began, ready to explain everything

"It's okay, I got it at a store back in Phoenix," Bella replied.

Andromeda looked at the message and sighed with relief. "Good, now I can tell Jessica," she replied and texted back a thank you. Andromeda looked at her hand and saw the skin was already starting to turn dark. Cat, who saw everything, didn't know exactly what was going on, but she knew Annie got hit and therefore she ran to her father.

Thomas and Charlie went outside and found Bella and Andromeda, still on the floor from when their heads bumped, and Andromeda holding her hand, wincing when she touched it. Thomas ran to Andromeda and Charlie to Bella and helped them out. Charlie found the baseball that hit Andromeda's head and looked around until he saw the boy who had thrown it, "Hey, you! Come here!" Charlie said and started walking towards the boy.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Thomas asked, concerned.

"Just a bit," Andromeda replied, showing him the hand.

"It was my fault," Bella said, turning towards the house, "We can get some ice for it."

"Good idea," Charlie said, coming up to them. They went inside and got some ice for Andromeda to put on her hand. She didn't think it would help though, there was wasn't much swelling, and bruises just have to be left alone to heal. As long as it made them feel better though, she would do it. She was also touched that Bella was actually showing some concern, not as much as Charlie or definitely her father, but showing concern nonetheless.

Andromeda and Bella talked more about things happening in school while Andromeda let her hand heal. Andromeda mentioned Jacob and according to Bella, she and Jacob were working on a project to rebuild an old motorcycle. Andromeda commented it sounded dangerous and Bella only shrugged it off.

Afterwards, when Cat started to get sleepy, having missed her nap, they went home. Cat was cranky the entire time and complained she couldn't sleep while the car was still moving. Andromeda wondered when her sister would take a car ride without complaining or attempting to take off her seat belt. "I'm telling you, she's spoiled," Andromeda said, holding Cat on her lap while she slept.

"Aw, come on Annie, when you have kids you're going to want to spoil them too," her father said, smiling.

"Not this much," Andromeda muttered.

They got home and Thomas carried Cat to her room and tucked her in. Andromeda helped her mother with the dishes and laundry and then went up to her room as well and practiced some of her dancing. A tune came to her head in the middle of reciting Romeo and Juliet, and it was a tune she'd though she'd forgotten. Edward used to hum it to her.

She danced to the tune and then stopped. She recently got over him, now she was just remembering, and it didn't run well by her. She sat down and focused on getting it out of her head. She refused to remember anything about Edward, she couldn't and she wouldn't. Eventually, after she had gotten ready for bed, she went to sleep. But in her dreams, the tune started to play again.

At first, her dream self started covering her ears, refusing to hear it, to hear him, but eventually though, he was back with her, embracing her. Andromeda shivered and tried to get warm, and dream Edward took off his jacket and gave it to her. She put it on, but it felt like it didn't work, since the jacket was cold from his body. She felt the same cold on her lips again, but her dream Edward wasn't kissing her.

She woke abruptly and looked around once more. There was nothing. "Oh God, I'm hallucinating," she moaned, covering her face with her hands. She fell back on the bed and tried going back to sleep, determined she wouldn't hallucinate anything anymore. Once she went back to sleep though, the cold didn't arrive first on her lips, they went first to her forehead, and then quickly to her lips. Afterwards, it disappeared, and Edward's jacket was gone.

* * *

**Whether she's having hallucinations or it's really him is up to you guys XD Remember, Bella is also having hallucinations of him and hearing his voice in her head, so it is possible that Andromeda is experiencing the same thing. I'm not saying anything though. You'll know what it really is if you just use common sense and think about how Andromeda had been taking his leave until now. (You guys already probably know XD)**

**I'm a bit proud of this chapter, at first I was going to have her agree to it, but then the whole table idea came to me. It wouldn't be like Andromeda to agree to something like that, her life is full of enough as it is, she doesn't want anymore on her plate. Plus, parents are bound to find out and then Andromeda gets into a heap of trouble with students from the school and other people who didn't expect something like that from her. So I'm glad how that turned out.**

**Tell me what you think! I've been reading some of the critiques and I find them very helpful, and some of them even caused me to sulk due to them being such good ideas. No flames please.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Plz Review!**


	15. Crosshairs

**The next part of the previous Chapter.**

**This chapter was actually very enjoyable for me to write at the beginning, but towards the end, you'll probably see more errors due to some things I'll explain at the end comments. I'll reread it now and fix whatever errors I can find.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

* * *

She woke up and got ready for school. Deciding outfits was much easier nowadays since Peter had already seen her wardrobe and mentioned once or twice which shirts he liked. She wasn't dressing for him; it was just nice to get a straight guy's opinion. She went downstairs and ate a Special K bar and went off to school.

She was in no way excited for school, especially since her hand was purple and that was bound to get asked about. She didn't mind answering the questions though, she knew people got curious. During her first few periods people did ask questions, and she told them she just got hit with a baseball when this kid was throwing it.

On her way to the lunch period, she was stopped by Jessica, whom Andromeda had never been so grateful for. "Sit with us today, I promise no tricks this time," Jessica said.

Andromeda wasn't sure whether or not to accept. Last time she did, her phone was taken and was going to be used against Bella. Against her better judgment, she decided to give it another try. Her friends weren't very supportive of the decision though, but they went with her anyways, this time each one sitting on one of her sides so no one can take her things.

Bella, surprisingly enough, was also sitting there. She smiled at Andromeda and Andromeda returned the smile. It seemed Jessica truly was trying to build up some sort of friendship with Andromeda, and she figured Andromeda had already made friends with Bella, so she urged her to join them as well.

"Does your hand feel better?" Bella asked.

"Yeah, much better than yesterday," Andromeda replied and looked at her hand.

Mike took notice of it and hissed, "Yikes, that looks like it hurt," he said. Andromeda shrugged and did a so-so motion with her hands. Mike smiled and nodded, "I hope it gets better soon," he said.

"I'm sure it will."

He turned his attention towards Bella, and Andromeda could almost feel the same slap on the face that now tormented Jessica. Lauren looked away, angry that her plot was spoiled, but now glad that Jessica got reminded the reason they planned it in the first place. Jessica tried to remind herself why she decided not to do it, but couldn't seem to remember. She soon found herself regretting the choice of hiding the message from Bella.

The bell rung and everyone went to their periods. For Andromeda, it was Calculus, which she wasn't too happy about. The teacher, impressed by Andromeda's, or her father's, effort at solving the homework problems, got her to go up to the board to explain how she solved them. It was truly pathetic, and Shane and Crystal felt like crying at how sad it looked.

The other students seemed to having a good time though. Usually they didn't hear things like 'put that number on top of that number, then add them up and they form a new number' from a calculus class. Not only was it funny, it had plenty of underlying messages they could poke fun at.

After the terrible class was over, Andromeda saw Mike and Bella coming out of English and overheard them making plans to see a movie. Bella was asking Mike out on Friday, she wanted it to be a group outing, it was impossible for Andromeda to comprehend. She couldn't believe it was Bella asking Mike out…it was impossible. It sounded more reasonable when she heard that she invited some people from La Push. They were going to see Crosshairs, the new action-based, everyone blows up movie.

Andromeda felt sorry for Mike. Couldn't Bella for once just cut him some slack and go out on at least one date? It's not that hard. Well, Mike was still happy about it, so Andromeda felt happy for him too. She heard her and Peter's name being mentioned, along with Katie's, Ben's, and Austin's before leaving. She figured since Austin's coming, then Connor must be coming as well, since the two were close friends and when one was invited, he usually told the other one about it.

Andromeda caught up with Peter as he went towards Spanish, the class they shared and told him what she heard. "We may be invited on a group outing with Mike and Bella," Andromeda said.

"Mike finally got Bella? BS," Peter said.

"No, he didn't get her, it's a group outing, not a date," Andromeda clarified.

Peter just laughed and put his arm around Andromeda's shoulders, "That's so sad," Peter said and they got to class. Peter was actually starting to feel like Andromeda was over Edward and finally putting him first. She turned several times towards him in Spanish and tried talking to him.

"Ms. Gates, if you wish to speak to Mr. Patten so badly, could you at least do it in Spanish?" the teacher, Mrs. De la Rosa said.

The students smiled and Andromeda muttered an okay. "Como estas senorita?" Peter said afterwards. Andromeda couldn't help but laugh, but after receiving a look from the teacher, she stopped and tried to stifle it. "Creo que estas muy bien…muchas gracias," he continued.

"I don't understand anything you're saying," Andromeda whispered back, smiling.

"Mi novia le gusta el color morado…mi novia es muy bonita," Peter said, smiling.

The teacher turned around, now really annoyed that her class was being interrupted. "Mr. Patten, I know you want to talk about Andromeda's favorite color and how pretty she is, but can we please get back to the lesson?"

"Si senora," Peter said and the students laughed.

The class period ended and some students still laughed over what Peter had said throughout the period. They also wondered how he got so good in Spanish, which Andromeda asked him about. He said there was a native speaker in the baseball team from Puerto Rico that helped him out sometime.

He walked her to her next class and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Que lastima!" he exclaimed and she laughed, still having no idea what he was saying. The last period went by painfully slower than the others but Andromeda got a few laughs in at Bella's expense. She knew it was mean of her, but it was so funny how Bella never failed to trip over something.

It was when her and Peter were on their way to their cars that Mike came up to them to tell them about the group outing to the movie. Luckily, Peter and Andromeda were together when he caught up with them, so he only had to explain it once. Peter immediately agreed, smiling the entire time. Andromeda on the other hand was more skeptical about it. She didn't want to see Mike get hurt, and this was definitely a recipe for disaster, but she accepted anyway.

On the few days till Friday, Andromeda spent more time with Peter, and Shane and Crystal urged her to do so. The more time they were together, the more intimate they got. Neither had forgotten about what they decided months ago, and though they rarely talked about it, when they did, it wasn't unusual that it would seem soon that the time would come when their intimacy went the extra step.

On the nights, Andromeda dreamt of Edward. She often dreamt of having to choose which path to take, Edward's or Peter's, and usually these dreams would make her wake up at night. Some nights though, the cold feeling returned to her lips, and sometimes it would come to her neck, cheek, or forehead. Andromeda had given up on stopping the hallucinations and started thinking about talking to her parents about it, maybe she needed some serious help.

When Friday came, both Peter and Andromeda weren't very excited, but that was mostly due to the fact they knew almost everyone canceled. Andromeda called Angela in the morning and found out she had the stomach flu, which meant both her and Ben were out. Jessica and Lauren would never accept, and Austin got the flu, so Connor caught the flu as well. Andromeda wondered if she should tell Bella about Angela, but decided against it, who knew, maybe a miracle would happen and Angela would get better.

"So…what do you think is going to happen?" Andromeda asked Peter as they sat outside the school.

"Everyone's going to bail and we're going to get to see Mike try to impress Bella, but if that Jacob guy comes, that's going to be a sad movie," Peter replied.

"I feel so sorry for Mike; he's always getting pushed around by Bella."

"Yeah, I know, it's starting to get really pathetic."

Andromeda shrugged, "The crazy things people do when they're in love."

"I can imagine," Peter agreed, looking down. Andromeda knew what he was talking about but didn't want to bring it up. He was talking about multiple things really, all of which Andromeda didn't feel like talking, and fighting, about.

The time for the outing came and Peter and Andromeda rode together to Bella's house, where they would meet. As they were arriving, they saw that everyone had bailed out, and it was just Jacob, Mike, and Bella. Peter didn't want to be mean, but the whole ordeal just made him want to burst out laughing. Andromeda was worried about how the whole date thing was going to work out, and how badly Mike was going to get his heart broken again.

They got out and greeted the three, who seemed to have some tension between them. Bella looked relieved to see that two other people had shown up and hopefully that would improve things. Peter took notice of the truck and asked about it.

"I called her the Rabbit, just finished her," Jacob said. He seemed he didn't have a problem with Peter, it was Mike that was on his bad side.

"Man, she looks like awesome, mind if I check her out?" Peter asked.

"Go ahead."

Andromeda shook her head and laughed, "Overachiever," she muttered and Peter only kissed her on the cheek before going to the car and pulling up the hood. Jacob joined him and explained how he built the engine, which impressed Peter. Bella smiled at Andromeda and shrugged.

"Hey, can Annie still do that whole leg thing?" Jacob asked, pointing at Andromeda.

"Which leg thing? She's got like five thousand of them," Peter said.

"The split in the air one."

"That was one's easy for her, heck, she could do that in her sleep."

Andromeda overhead them and shook her head, "Don't say mean things about me!" she called out to them. Peter only smiled at her and threw her an air kiss, which she pretend to dodge. He laughed and went back to checking out the Rabbit. Bella felt a sting in her chest, but she ignored it, she didn't want to tell them to stop.

After some talk, they all got in the Rabbit, which Bella wanted to go in. It wasn't large enough to fit all of them though, so Andromeda volunteered to sit on Peter's lap. She didn't want to take the suburban knowing that both Bella and Jacob were eager to drive in the Rabbit. Once they were all in, the scene suddenly turned very gloomy for Mike, for Bella and Jacob were chatting away, completely ignoring the rest on the back.

"Dude, just move on," Peter suddenly whispered to Mike.

"What are you talking about?" Mike asked, trying to hide the obvious.

"She doesn't like you, it's best to find someone that actually likes you back," Peter said, but faltered by the end. He found it hard to forget the reason Andromeda agreed to go out with him, to make Edward jealous. She didn't really even like him at all until they started going out. He tried to forget about that and noticed Andromeda started taking a nap on him.

"You liked her too, you just gave up on her," Mike said, looking away.

"I didn't give up on her…I found something better." Peter was looking at Andromeda as she slept. He had never seen her sleep, but he was amazed at how beautiful she looked. She looked so peaceful, and he swore she was glowing in his arms. At that moment, he decided Edward Cullen was an idiot for not choosing Andromeda when he had the chance. Peter also noticed something else…she was wearing waterproof make up again.

Mike looked at them with jealousy, wanting to have something like that with Bella. He tried to make a move to be noticed by her and attempted to turn on the radio, which earned him scowls by both Jacob and Bella. "Sorry, Bella doesn't like music," Jacob said. Apparently, Bella really didn't, it irritated her.

Peter looked sympathetically at Mike and decided to defend him, if they were going to be needlessly cruel to Mike, he'll mess with them on Mike's behalf. "Well, I like music, and Annie likes music, so majority rules," Peter said. Since the Rabbit didn't have a radio, Peter simply had to take out his Ipod and play the music loudly through the Ipod's speakers.

Peter smiled at Bella and Jacob, "I hope this doesn't irritate you."

Andromeda, who was still asleep, had been woken up by the music. "Give this to me," Andromeda said and Peter handed her the mp3. Jacob smiled as if he had won, but Peter knew he didn't, Andromeda liked music, and she just liked an even worse kind of music than Bella did: pop. Peter smiled back, triumphantly as Andromeda put on a Ke$ha song she had found on the Pandora application. She remembered Shane recommending it to her and figured she might as well listen to it now.

Bella tried to hide her dissatisfaction, and Mike tried to agree with the song choice. Jacob just nodded at Peter, as if congratulating and saying it was a good game. Peter smiled and took away the Ipod from his sleepy girlfriend and decided to turn it off since they were already getting to the theatre. Andromeda closed her eyes, wanting to sleep again, but Peter gently shook her awake. He actually enjoyed having her sleep on his chest, she looked so cute.

They got to the theatre and everyone got out of the vehicle. Jacob handed Bella ten bucks and reminded her he wasn't old enough to get in. Mike was having trouble keeping up, and Peter and Andromeda didn't even try to keep up. Peter just waited until Andromeda was awake enough to start trying to keep up. "Does my make up look fine?" she asked.

"I don't see anything wrong with it," Peter said and she rolled her eyes. She could be wearing a shirt with a mustard stain and he wouldn't see anything wrong with it. Andromeda looked ahead and saw Mike hurrying to catch up with Bella and Jacob, who were chatting away and laughing together. Sympathy overtook her and she decided to hurry up and catch up with Mike.

The movie was about to start, and Peter couldn't help but chuckle as Bella was in between Jacob and Mike. Andromeda had to join him this time, it was too humorous. Bella looked she wanted to escape the place, she looked so awkward and was focused on the screen. Mike was trying to make a move on Bella, and Jacob was glaring at Mike.

The movie started and just in the beginning, people were already getting blown up. Peter scoffed and looked away, shaking his head. "What's wrong?" Andromeda asked, noticing his reaction. She wondered what it could be and figured it was most likely the movie, which might've bothered him due to the excessive violence.

"This thing's all gore, no plot," Peter complained.

Andromeda smiled. 'Called it' she thought. She leaned against Peter and wrapped her arm around his, "Well, I'm scared, you can make me feel better," she said, smiling at him. She quickly glanced back to see if any of the others were watching her and Peter, but found they were just watching the movie, with Jacob snickering.

"I know a very good way to distract from this terror," Peter said, smirking. He leaned down and kissed her. She was worried that at any point one of the three would turn and see them, but decided that they were too into the movie, and into winning Bella to notice her and Peter, well, basically making out in the theatre.

She separated from Peter and decided to actually watch some of the movie. Her mind was thinking back to the cold kisses she felt at night though, and she wondered if Bella went through a similar thing. They felt just like Edward's kisses, despite them being cold and hard, they created warmth in her chest and cheeks, and send shivers throughout her body. She didn't want to be thinking this after she had just kissed Peter, she didn't want to feel guilty while watching a movie where everyone gets killed for no adequately explained reason, so she pushed Edward away.

Mike wasn't starting to feel very well and both Andromeda and Bella saw he was truly sick. He excused himself and quickly left the theatre. Both Andromeda and Bella stood up and went after him, Andromeda filled with concern. She hoped the movie hadn't been too much, or maybe it was the stomach flu going around. Either way, both the guys joined the girls.

They couldn't find Mike, so Bella sent Peter and Jacob to check if he was in the men's room. Peter came out with smiling, while Jacob came out rolling his eyes. "He's in there all right," Jacob said.

"He's throwing up more than a Victoria Secret model," Peter added.

"Can you try to help?" Andromeda asked worry etched on her face.

"What can we do? Hold his hair back while he throws up?"

Andromeda sighed and gave up on it. Still, she was concerned. To her, she thought it was more the stomach flu than anything, but she also considered the movie playing a role in his illness. "What a marshmallow. You should hold out someone with a stronger stomach, someone who laughs at the gore that make weaker men vomit," Jacob said to Bella, who actually smiled.

It disappointed Andromeda, seeing how little concern they were showing for Mike, he could have stomach flu and they were laughing at him. "Jacob," Andromeda said, which made him turn to her, "Why are you being such an asshole to Mike?"

This surprised Peter, who noticed it, but didn't think to actually call Jacob out on it. Jacob was also shocked, as was Bella. Jacob never expected to hear that from Andromeda, but then again, he realized that he had been treating Mike unfairly. He also remembered that Andromeda once had a crush on Mike, she once told him on one of her trips to La Push, and he decided to be a bit more sympathetic.

"It doesn't matter actually," Andromeda said, "Let's just give him some time." Her and Peter walked away, leaving Bella and Jacob alone. They went to another one of the halls, where Andromeda sighed and sat down on the floor. Peter joined her and put his arm around her shoulders.

"That…was pretty awesome," Peter said, starting to smile.

She leaned against him and they talked and waited for Mike to come out. They finally heard him come out and quickly went towards the others. He explained that he felt nauseous before the lights were even out and Andromeda guessed he had the stomach flu. She got a bucket from the cashier and Peter and Jacob took Mike outside.

Andromeda noticed that Jacob was becoming increasingly warm, and started wondering if it was something serious like a fever. As Peter and Andromeda were seating Mike in the back of the truck, both of them caught the conversation going on between Jacob and Bella. Apparently, Jacob's temperature was really high, and it worried Bella that he might have a fever.

"Do you want me to drive?" Peter asked, noticing he was the last healthy guy left.

"I can drive too if you want," Andromeda offered. She looked at the truck and noticed it was one of those manual trucks…she's never driven a stick before. Peter probably has though, considering his uncle collects cars for a living.

"Look, I'm completely fine, okay?" Jacob said, getting into the driver's seat.

Andromeda sighed and waited until Peter got in so she could sit on his lap. Once in, she focused more on trying to help Mike. Occasionally she would pick up the bucket for him if he started throwing up and he couldn't pick it up himself. Jacob would look back every once in a while, making sure his car wasn't soiled. Peter sometimes patted Mike on the back, but stopped after he saw that make him choke on the vomit.

"We should've brought a camera, this is so youtube material," Peter said while Andromeda held the bucket for Mike.

"You know what, I think you may be right about that fever thing, I am feeling…strange," Jacob said to Bella.

"What? Oh no, Jake, not you too!" Bella exclaimed. She offered to drive but he insisted to keep driving.

"What's your diagnosis Nurse Joy?" Peter asked Andromeda.

"Nurse Joy? You watch Pokemon?" Andromeda said, starting to laugh

"Well look who's an Officer Jenny."

Andromeda laughed and shook her head. She muttered a stupid underneath her breath and he smiled at her. She smiled back, and soon found herself placing her lips against his. They didn't kiss for long before Jacob cleared his throat, making them stop. "Sorry," Andromeda whispered, heat rushing to her cheeks.

They arrived back at Bella's house, and she took Mike home in his suburban with Jacob following her so he could take her back home. Andromeda and Peter went back to Peter's car and started driving home. It was silent between them, and Peter sensed Andromeda was worried about how they were going to treat Mike.

"He's sick, they won't be mean to him," Peter said, trying to make her feel better.

"Did you hear the way they were talking about him at the theatre? I wouldn't be surprised if Jacob shoved him out of the car," Andromeda replied, shaking her head in disappointment, "He used to be so nice, I never imagined him this way."  
Peter looked over and saw she was looking out the window, sadness obviously in her eyes. He took her hand and squeezed it, making her face him. "It'll be fine, I promise, we can even call Mike when we get to your house."

Andromeda nodded and relaxed. She had never been so grateful for Peter before, and she found it relieving that he still loved her despite everything they went through, or more accurately, what she put him through. He seemed to have forgotten about everything, but he could never erase those images from his mind, every time they passed the school, there they were.

Andromeda wished she was a better girlfriend to him, he was so good with her that it made her feel like she was the worst thing that's happened to him. She looked at Peter for some time before kissing him on the cheek, then his jaw. "Hey! I'm driving here," Peter said, smiling, moving away from her.

"Then stop," she replied.

Peter looked at her, surprised. He had never seen Andromeda act that way, in fact, he wasn't sure whether to be turned on or worried. "Let's go somewhere else," Andromeda added on, trying to seem seductive. In her mind, she didn't want to think about how badly she was doing, but she couldn't blame herself, she was getting nervous. It was her own fault though, she just hadn't realized it.

Peter, completely unsure, turned the car and drove until he got to the spot they usually went to make out, or talk about things they didn't want people seeing or hearing. He turned off the car and leaned back on the chair, "So…was it me or the movie that made a good girl go bad?" he asked.

"Peter, I'd hate to break this to you," Andromeda said, thinking about Edward and how they were seeing each other for an year, how they kissed every night in her room, how Peter had caught them, and how even afterwards, she couldn't find the strength to leave him and continued betraying Peter, "But I've been a bad girl longer than you think."

Again, Peter had no idea whether to be turned on, or just worried. Andromeda pressed her lips against his before he could think of saying anything. This wasn't like her, but she knew he deserved at least this much from her, or at least she thought. Andromeda went to the back and pulled Peter with her, pulling him back into a kiss.

It was nerve wracking, everything that she was doing. She felt so clumsy that she thought she might as well be fifteen due to how bad she was doing. Clumsiness is something she very rarely felt, and man did it feel uncomfortable. Peter slowly started taking off her jacket. He had done that before since he complained about it being too bulky. This time though, he did something he didn't usually do, he placed his hands awfully close to her breast.

She separated for bit, his hand being uncomfortable there. She tried not to mind, telling herself it was barley anything, but she wanted to stop at that instant. She thought of all the terrible things she had done to Peter and decided to keep going with her decision, she didn't want this to be due to guilt, but she found no other way of making herself continue without wanting to stop every three seconds.

"I can't do it," Peter suddenly said, stopping everything.

Andromeda, whose mind was still hazy, looked at him with confusion, "Why not?" she asked, still trying to get over their previous actions.

"I don't want you looking back and saying you did this because you felt sorry for me, and I definitely don't want you saying it was all a mistake."

"I'm doing this because I love you." She had expected that to come on as untruthful, but to her surprise, it came out true. She did love him, and she knew he returned her feelings. Her body relaxed at the thought and she suddenly found security in her words, "I want this," she whispered and kissed him again.

This time she didn't think about it, and actually found herself wanting more. She didn't think about he removed her shirt, or how he was shirtless as well. Of course there was that small voice in the back of her mind, telling her she wasn't ready, but it suppressed by the growing lust in her body.

She barely heard something break off, and it sounded like the branch of a tree. A flock of birds flew out of the trees, obviously disturbed, and she heard rustling among the forest around them. She realized her pants were already loose and pushed down a bit, and Peter's were the same. What was worse is that she realized she did those things. Peter traced his hand up her waist and to her chest, seeking to unclip her bra. The feeling was familiar and she realized it was Edward who had once done that to her, to show her what things Peter was thinking.

Her mind wondered to Edward and she heard another rustling. "Stop!" she suddenly exclaimed. Peter got off her, wondering what was wrong. She sat up, and became suddenly embarrassed. She quickly covered her torso with her shirt and started crying. Peter hadn't been expecting this, and started feeling guilty.

"I'm sorry, I should've stopped sooner," he said, tucking stray hairs behind her ear.

She shook her head and wiped away the tears, "It's nothing…I just think there's someone here," Andromeda said, trying to make up an excuse, "We can keep going-"

"No," Peter interrupted, knowing Andromeda really didn't want to. He sighed and put on his shirt and buttoned his pants. Andromeda felt guilty for stopping and instead let the shirt drop to the seat of the car, and removed her bra for him. Peter looked, and for a moment wanted to keep going with their act. It took a lot of will power on his part to look away and shake his head. "It's better if we don't."

Andromeda sighed, and put on her clothes and buttoned her pants as well, and put on her jacket, which almost went forgotten by her. She looked back at Peter, unsure of what to say, and looked down.

She noticed a problem he had, and looked at him, asking him if she should do something. "I'll handle it," he said and went back to the driver's seat. Andromeda sat down next to him, the silence growing uncomfortable. Andromeda didn't mind though, at least it gave her some time to think.

On their way back to her house, neither said anything. Andromeda looked down every once in a while to see if his problem had gotten better, but usually just looked out the window. "So…" Andromeda said, trying to make it less quiet, "Did you think I was pretty?"

Peter laughed and glanced at her, "Did I think your body was pretty?" he asked, unbelieving and humored she just asked that. She began to blush and her ears turned red, but she nodded, embarrassed. He looked at her for a moment and took her hand, "I always think you're beautiful," he said and she smiled. "I have to admit though; you were way hotter than I thought."

Andromeda laughed, "Why do you say that like you're joking?"

"No, I mean it. You know that Rosalie Hale, I think that's what her name was, she's probably got nothing on you."

Andromeda smiled and shook her head. She muttered something about him being an idiot and he chuckled at her. They started talking afterwards, sometimes Peter would do it in Spanish, saying it was a romantic language. Andromeda thought French was a romantic language, and Peter clarified it was only romantic for gays and emos, which most were bisexual anyway.

When they got to the house, it was just getting dark, which made her worry about Peter. He knew about the murders going on and told her not to worry about it. Still, she couldn't help but call him twenty seconds after he left. She called Mike to see how he was feeling, and heard he did have stomach flu. She wished him good luck and then hung up to do some homework.

The homework idea didn't turn out very well, and she decided to practice dancing instead. She wondered if she should tell Shane and Crystal what she almost did today, but soon went to daydream about dancing. People complained her head was stuck in the clouds, but she didn't mind them, soon those dreams will come out of the clouds and become a reality, she was sure.

After she got ready, she went to sleep, and like every other night, she dreamt of Edward. This time, dream Edward was kissing her while they stood in a dark empty field. He kissed her deeply and ardently, but she could see he was heartbroken by something, and he was kissing her this way out of jealousy and a way to win her back. The cold feeling on her lips became too much and she woke up but found nothing there.

She touched her lips for the first time since those hallucinations started, and found it truly was cold. "Edward?" she whispered silently to herself. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling that would be the last time she felt his kiss.

* * *

**As you can see, I had trouble writing out an almost "you know what" scene, and keeping it as clean as possible. Nothing extreme is mentioned but this is a teen rating, that means 13 year olds included, and I remember when I was thirteen, I was always giggling when I read those things high school books. I would appreciate if someone did tell me if I took it too far though, I can always edit those things out, and I actually edited more out just to make sure. The age group I'm most worried that won't agree with this though is 13-14, or everyone still in junior high. Sure, everyone's probably seen worse in movies, but I don't want my story to be like that.**

**Another thing I noticed as I was writing this chapter and reading New Moon again: the treatment of Mike. Since I was writing with both Peter's and Andromeda's character in mind while I read the book, I looked at how Mike was treated with a new perspective. When I first read it, I was annoyed by him, but now with Andromeda in between the lines, I felt sorry for him. Andromeda, I imagined, would feel even worse for him if she saw that. The whole Movie part was an excellent example on how badly they treated him.**

**Also remember, Andromeda had a huge crush on him since before Middle School, it was hard for her to see him get pushed around by Bella and Jacob. She also had never seen that side of Bella before, the side that Lauren and Jessica kept talking about. Heck, even I had trouble seeing it until I reread New Moon with Andromeda sitting on my shoulder. Lol...I know, I keep talking like Andromeda's real XD**

**Thanks for reading! **

**Plz Review!**


	16. Chocolate Brown

**Chapter 16! It took me really long to update this, but...It's a reallly long chapter, the longest so far I think. Funny part about that is I honestly don't think much goes on in this chapter. I use it mostly for other purposes than storyline XD. **

**The next chapter is currently being written, I'm about halfway done with it even XD But, I'm enjoying it. Hope everyone's enjoying it too! I haven't stopped reading reviews and I want to appreciate and thank all the great and constructive reviews y'all give for me. For now, please enjoy! **

**Also, I'm actually very happy to see that people are enjoying the whole EdwardxOC type of story. Most people I've met think that every character in creation is poorly created, but I'm glad for anyone who's read this far because 1) You think Annie is a good character. 2) You think my characters suck but you're reading it for the lulz. I'm happy either way because I want you guys to be enjoying the story :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

* * *

The next morning was an overall blur for her. It was Saturday, so she had nothing to do except wonder about the house or talk to friends. Her parents didn't want her being outside alone, and taking Cat wasn't going to help, so she just stayed inside, bored out of her mind.

She soon started daydreaming about her ballet. Without thinking, she began to whisper the words of Romeo and Juliet, when Mercutio delivered his Queen Mab speech. She danced flawlessly with two other performers, whose faces she had made up, and looked out to the crowd. She smiled and started to wave while they applauded the performance. Edward walked on stage and took her hand. He led her out of the people's sight and silently showed his affection to her. She heard Peter calling her though and left, walking out of the building with him, letting him know he was her Romeo.

Of course, she had to wake up from her daydreams every once a while. Her mother had just called her downstairs to do the dishes. She sighed and stood up, "True, I talk of dreams, which are the children of an idle brain, begot of nothing but vain fantasy, which is as thin of substance as the air," she recited from Act I Scene IV.

She got downstairs and saw Cat was standing over the sink, putting more dirty plates in. Andromeda sighed and walked over to her. "It's my turn to do dishes today you know," she said and Cat smiled. It was her turn to do a lot of things today. Since she had nothing better to do than just wander around, her mother had taken the liberty of assigning her more chores than ever.

While she did the dishes, she thought of Romeo and Juliet again. The more she thought about it, the more she could relate it to her life. She knew 'Romeo and Juliet' was created as satire, which in her opinion was more than appropriate for her. She knew it wasn't a romance, it was a tragedy. It was supposed to make fun of the stupidities of young love, and it could be even argued that their 'love' was nothing more than a plot device.

'Stupidities of young love,' she thought, looking at the dishes. That's why Shakespeare made Romeo and Juliet. It kind of made her wonder if God created her for the same reason: to laugh at her weak heart. Maybe her love for Edward was nothing more than a plot device He was using. For what, she had no idea. She paused and looked at the dishes. It was pointless thinking about those things, she had other chores to think about along with trying to raise her grades and maybe join a club or two.

She continued doing her chores, now working cleaning up the living room while her mother did the laundry. She managed to forget about Edward and think about Peter. She should call him and plan something. There really was no point in staying in the house all day. She cleared the objects off the coffee table and began dusting it. She looked back every once in a while to make sure Cat didn't break anything.

She heard the sound of a motor running and looked towards the front door. "Is dad mowing the lawn?" she asked, looking towards her mother in the laundry room.

"Sure is. That's how I keep him fit," her mother replied, smiling. Andromeda sighed and continued cleaning off the room. After she was done with the furniture, she would have to grab a vacuum and work on the carpet. Afterwards, as if that weren't enough, she'd have to pick up a mop and clean the kitchen. It didn't end there though, because she would also experience the joy of vacuuming the upstairs area.

She looked at Cat while she vacuumed and silently wished she was four years old without the burden of chores. Cat ran to the kitchen and got a Klondike bar, which she made a big fuss over buying. She took the 'what would you do for a Klondike bar' commercial a bit too seriously. She ran back to watch her sister clean and sat down.

"Cat, don't do that," Andromeda said and stopped vacuuming. She picked the girl up, who started complaining as soon as she did, and moved her to the kitchen table. "You can come back when I'm done cleaning."

"No!" Cat yelled and got down from her chair. "I'm going to mommy and telling her you're being mean to me!"

"I'm not being mean! I just don't want you messing up the living room right after I cleaned it."

"Annie! Get back to work!"

Andromeda rolled her eyes and finished vacuuming. It felt endless to her. After she had finished mopping she went on to work on the kitchen. She was relieved to see Cat had gone to her room, but unfortunately, she only went to get socks. "I want to walk on the slippery floor," she stated, putting on her socks.

Andromeda wasn't sure if she should let her. Usually, her parents supervised her when she did that, but they were both busy and so was she. She knew that if she didn't let her though, that she would probably get in the way of her cleaning and start shouting again. There would be no harm against it. As long as she was in the house, it should be safe. "Okay, but go slow," Andromeda said, fixing her socks for her.

"I will," Cat replied, standing up.

Andromeda left to the kitchen and began working on the counters. Edward somehow made his back into her mind and she began thinking about him. Was he really gone? She couldn't believe it had been so long without him. She touched her lips again, as if checking to see if they were still cold from her dream. He looked so…torn.

She wondered if it was because of her and Peter almost having… she didn't need to think about that. If it was, she could only chuckle dryly. That was only a taste of the rejection and hardship he had put her through, so it was only fair. She wanted to stop; she wanted to stop caring about him at all. It had been months since she had last seen him, so it should've been easy. The problem was…it wasn't.

She heard some cluttering and soon crying followed the sound. Surprisingly, she acted faster than she actually registered what was going on. "Cat!" she exclaimed and quickly ran over to the sound of whimpering. She found the girl on the ground, crying as a broken vase fragment rested dangerously close to her leg. Andromeda quickly picked her up and brushed her off, not wanting any fragments on her.

"What happened?" Eliza asked, coming in wearing gloves from cleaning the bathrooms. There was worry etched on her face and then horror as she saw some blood dripping from sock her baby was wearing.

Andromeda didn't notice the blood until it Cat pressed her foot against her stomach and ended up staining her shirt as well. She looked at her mother desperately, unknowing of what to do. The girl in her arms only kept crying as the two women looked at each other. "Try to stop the bleeding, I'll be right back. I need to wash my hands before I touch her," her mother said, trying to maintain her voice and composure.

"Okay," Andromeda replied, rushing towards the couch where Cat would be comfortable. It was probably a bad idea to treat a bloody wound over carpet, but she didn't want Cat to be uncomfortable and in pain. "Alright Kitty," she whispered, taking off the sock.

She gasped when she saw the cut. It was a jagged line across the sole of her foot, and it looked deep enough that it penetrated to her muscles. 'Oh my God,' she thought, looking at the wound. She found some remnants of the shard that had pierced her and began removing them, feeling sick the entire time. "Mom!" She was desperate; she knew she couldn't stop the bleeding by herself. She used the sock to catch the dripping blood and told Cat it was okay to cry.

Her father came in, sweaty and tired and looked over at Andromeda and Cat. "What's going on?" he asked and walked towards them. He saw the cut on the girl's foot and immediately took over. "What happened?" he asked harshly, enough to make Andromeda jump.

"She must've knocked over a vase and stepped on one of the shards," Andromeda replied, frightened by the bleeding foot and her father's loud voice.

Before he could respond, her mother was there with gauze trying to stop the bleeding. "It's too deep," she whispered towards her husband, who nodded. She picked up her child, deciding she would take her to the hospital. They couldn't talk about it though, since Cat hated hospitals. Her mother looked at Andromeda and motioned her to follow. She wanted to know exactly what happened and she knew her oldest had to know somewhat more about it that she leads on.

Andromeda followed with dread. They attended the girl fairly quickly at the hospital, seeing as she came in crying. They took her away and now Eliza turned towards the older. "Annie, what happened?" she asked, trying to be calm.

"She just tripped and stepped on something," Andromeda replied, feeling guilty over her decision. At least it wasn't a complete lie.

"Why did she trip? She couldn't have tripped and hurt herself so badly if she was just walking."

"I don't know how she did it…"

Her mother sighed with frustration, "Andromeda Elizabeth Gates, you have better not be lying to me."

Andromeda looked down in guilt and nodded. "I let her slide on the floors after I mopped them. She must've slid too fast and hit herself against the table."

Her mother shook her head and took a deep breath. She expected better from Andromeda than this. "Why did you let her? You know we only let her do that when one of us is around. And why didn't you watch her if you were going to let her slide on the floor?"

"I was busy doing cleaning the stupid kitchen! I'm sorry if I don't have eyes on the back of my head!"

"You shouldn't have let her if you knew you weren't going to take the time to make sure this didn't happen!"

"If I didn't she would've followed me to the kitchen and made a mess there!"

"Is that why? Because you were afraid of doing a little extra housework? Look at what happened, Annie!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't know she was going to do that. I told her to go slow!"

"She's four! You can't expect her to obey every single little thing!"

Andromeda scoffed, "But you expect me to?"

Her mother looked taken aback, "Yes, I do expect you to obey every single little thing. You know why? Because you're old enough to take responsibility for a few things."

"You're right, mom, I am old enough. In fact, I'm eighteen; I don't have to have to listen to you anymore. I can live on my own now."

Eliza only raised a brow and chuckled. "Really? You can live on your own? You can pay for groceries, electricity, water, appliances, furniture and other living requirements? Oh and let's not forget the delightful property taxes, income taxes, and sale taxes on everything you buy. And how can we forget about pesky little things like health care, car insurance, or mortgages? Please enlighten me Annie, exactly how do you plan to pay for all of that with a part time job, school work, and dance involved?"

Andromeda stayed silent, unable to answer her. Her mother was so right that the level of wrongness that put Andromeda in was almost embarrassing. Her mother walked away to be with Cat while they stitched her up. Andromeda only sat down, wondering what they had in store for her. Probably not grounding, since that was overused. They already took away her cellphone and computer. After that, she wasn't sure what was left. Maybe she'd get lucky and they'd decide to take the books away…probably in her dreams, and even there it's pushing it.

Her father went to sit down beside her. He seemed fidgety about something and she wondered if it was because he was angry. Her father was never one to be angry too long at his daughters, but maybe this time was an exception. He was actually never an angry man, period. The only time she had ever seen him be truly angry and hold that grudge is whenever someone hurts one of his daughters. That was probably why he was glad that Edward left.

"Annie," he began, looking down at his pockets. He took out a piece of paper and handed it to her. "Just consider it." She wasn't sure what he meant, but she looked at the paper anyway. It turned out to be a job application for the diner nearby. "I don't want you working too far away anymore. I know this is a bad time, and I'm upset at you, but you're still my daughter and I don't want you to get hurt."

Andromeda looked at the paper for some time. She knew some people at the diner, but she had already gotten some friends at the restaurant. Including Sharon and Amber, which both tried and failed miserably at seducing Edward. She wasn't sure if she would like the move, but she also wasn't sure if her parents would let her keep her job if she decided to stay with the restaurant. "I'll think about it," she said and folded the paper. "How's Cat?"

Her father sighed and rubbed his temples, "Finally stopped crying after they numbed it down for her. They said she should be fine, but whatever cut her cut her pretty deep."

"I'm sorry."

He looked and smiled at her. "It's okay kiddo, you didn't mean it. Though, I have to say, and don't tell your mom I said this in front of you, but you're in a world of shit right about now."

She looked down and smiled a bit. Little did he know she had been there for some time already. She stood up and looked back towards her father, "What room is she in?" she asked.

"Down the hall, second door to the left. She's probably asleep though, so just go somewhere and enjoy your last seconds of freedom while we search for reasonable third-world torture techniques to use later."

Andromeda laughed and went to the room anyway. Cat was asleep, as her father predicted, with a new bandage on her foot. Andromeda went over and kissed the girl on her forehead. She nodded towards her mother and left. When she reached her father again she decided she would take his advice, "I'm going to check out the job."

She got the privilege of having her father drive her to the diner and gave her some change to use a pay phone. He had forgotten her cellphone, which would've been much more convenient. She went in and walked towards the first person she recognized. The waitress turned and smiled brightly at her. It was the same one who had served her and Edward. "Hey Annie, how are you? Well, look at you. I heard from your mom that you were getting skinnier everyday but I just couldn't believe it until now. I'm serious, Annie, you have to get some more meat into those bones."

Andromeda smiled and followed her to the counters. "I need your help Molly. I'm considering getting a job here, and maybe it'll help if you put in a good word for me."

Molly smiled and went to get some coffee. "Sure I will, but don't you already have a job at that fancy restaurant?"

"Yeah, but my dad wants me to quit since it's too far away."

"I don't blame him. With everything that's been going on, I'd be watching my children like a hawk too. They're saying that it's some type of animal that people are getting mauled by in the woods. A bear probably…still, it makes me shiver."

Andromeda was slightly interested to the incidents and decided to ask about them. "Have they found any animal paws…or something?"

"Not really, what they're finding is a torn body."

Andromeda hitched her breath and wondered what could be those things. It was either a vampire or it was really a bear or something. If it was a vampire, then she had no idea why they hadn't left already. For a moment, she wondered if they were targeting someone, but the idea sounded ridiculous. "Well, thank you. I'll have my application in by tomorrow."

"Sure thing sweetie, be careful out there."

Andromeda nodded and left, a bit shaken up by the idea of something in the forests. She called her father and sat outside, waiting for him. She found herself thinking about Peter and what they…almost did. It didn't matter how much he joked about it, she still felt guilty that she couldn't give him that much. There was something else though, and it was a wave of relief that constantly washed over her. Every time she thought about it, sure it made her guilty, but she it made her more glad that she stopped.

Her father arrived and drove her home. Apparently, they decided a punishment for her that they thought would benefit both parties involved. "No more Ferrari," her father said, smiling at her every once in a while. He had honestly wanted to take the car away for a while, since he didn't want Andromeda keeping any presents from Edward.

"What? But I need to drive to school," Andromeda said, surprised at her new punishment. She needed her car to get to school, and work, and lessons and maybe visit some friends. She didn't understand how they could just take away a car.

"Look around kid; this is your new car."

She did look around and she groaned in disappointment. Great, now she had an old Toyota that had a splendid history of carrying her mother in labor to the hospital and being thrown up in about four times by Cat. She could almost smell the new car smell with a side of semiotic fluid and bleach. "Thanks."

Her father laughed, "Always thinking about you."

She had turned in the application as promised the next day to the diner and also learned that Bella and Mike had the stomach flu. She called Peter to see if he was okay and learned he also had the stomach flu. She wondered why it hadn't gotten to her, after all; she was there just like the rest. Maybe she would get lucky and not have the flu at all. Of course, asking for luck was pushing it a bit, since two days later her late visitor arrived.

Her mother made her some soup while she was sick, but she ended up throwing it back out anyway, so she spent most of her time doing thing that are designed to mentally torture you and make time slower than it's supposed to be…like homework. She hadn't seen Peter in days, and now that she thought about it, Bella seemed more depressed than usual. She figured it had to be because Jacob had probably gotten the virus as well.

One thing she kept noticing though is that the cold kisses never returned. She would wake up in the middle of the night, almost expecting them, but it was nothing. It must've been a complete hallucination. It was stupid of her, to think that Edward actually came back for a while. Even if he did, she couldn't see why he would come back to her and not Bella.

"Ready to go back to school?" her mother asked, walking in with some celery and peanut butter.

Andromeda sighed and put down the magazine she had been reading. She had learned about five-hundred different outfits to wear for 'affordable' prices, if you call a hundred and fifty dollars affordable. She also learned that Justin Bieber was actually sixteen years old and not the thirteen or twelve she originally thought, but he recently hit puberty. She needed to stop reading magazines before she turned into a social. "I guess," she replied.

"Well, I hope so because one more absent and no more exempting final exams for you."

"Then I'm definitely ready to go back."

She looked at the peanut butter and celery and wondered the point of it. Peanut butter wasn't healthy at all, so she had no idea why her mother was letting her have some. She took the celery stick and began eating. "Have some peanut butter, it's good for you," her mother stated, pushing it towards her.

Andromeda picked up the jar and looked at it, "It is?"

"Well, it's good at sticking your lips together so you stop whining."

Andromeda smiled, "You're such a good mother."

"Really? I don't even try."

They laughed and her mother left to check on Tom who had called her. It didn't take long for her to come back holding a phone. "This is the diner, they want to do a quick interview and they're wondering when you can come in." Andromeda replied that she would be able to tomorrow. She was more preoccupied with seeing Peter again, and checking on how Mike was sparing with his flu.

She would be worried about Bella, but for some reason there was growing resentment towards her. It must be her period was nearing. She managed to go to school and meet up with Peter the next day. It wasn't as awkward as she expected, but enough to make her somewhat uncomfortable. She also went to the ballet classes to help the younger girls with their dancing and fit some practice in. That's when she finally made it to the diner.

The interview went by easily; there wasn't much to it since her father was friends with the owner. A bit unfair, but effective. She had no idea how they met since her father was a data development engineer, or simply technical writer. He was talking about being promoted to a technical publications manager, but she had no idea what that was. According to him though, they lived in one of the highest paying areas for his job, so they were well off.

She was in her room, studying whatever they were doing in biology. She had no idea why they were having to learn ROY G. BIV again though. She always remembered the name, but forgot what it actually meant. She called Shane, since her father was busy and asked him about it.

"We're studying how different types of light affect a plants growth, babe," Shane replied, reading an OK magazine with US weekly by his side.

"Well, I'm not getting it. I can't even remember what ROY G. BIV stands for half the time," Andromeda said, looking at the textbook.

"Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet."

"Why is learning a bunch of colors important anyway?"

Shane sighed, "Well, change up the acronym. I like to think of it as ORGY BIV myself, but that's just me."

"ORGY BIV? How does that even help…other than it's disgusting?"

"It's like a group of colors all having an orgy, trust me sweetie, it makes sense in my mind."

"Yeah…I kind of didn't need to know that."

Shane laughed and continued talking about Lindsey Lohan in jail. He filled her in on all the Hollywood drama. Angelina had pictures taken of her topless, Selena Gomez called Justin Bieber short, Zac Efron went to a strip club, Snooki from Jersey Shore got arrested and his all time favorite: Joe McElderry admitted he was gay. It was like a party for Shane. First Clay Aiken comes out of the closet, then Adam Lambert, then Senorita Ricky Martin, and now Joe McElderry!

Andromeda laughed and wondered how Shane could be such a diva. She also wondered how come the best male singers were either gay or bisexual. She sighed and hung up, deciding to call Peter instead. He was mostly worried about his dad, who worked for Hewlett Packard, but now with the CEO fired he wasn't sure what would happen next.

By the time she went to sleep, she had called Jessica in hopes of hearing how Mike and Bella were doing. They would all be back in school the next few days.

A few days had passed and the cold kisses really seemed gone for good. At least she and Peter were better than ever. Fights didn't happen as often and why they did they were usually something dumb. She got a phone call saying they were expecting her to start working soon at the diner. Andromeda found that the hours were longer, and there were more days than what she had at the restaurant. She wrote her letter of resignation and sent it over to the restaurant. She never wanted to quit on a bad note. Her father had taught her that when it came down to work, never burn any bridges.

She would start working at the diner on a Friday when the school was out. It was an all day shift, since they were short on waitresses. Molly found herself having to work in the kitchen, and so she let Andromeda handle her regular costumers. She wrote down a list of things for her to remember with each costumer when she greeted them. Andromeda found it was fairly simple since she knew most of the people there.

"Hey Mr. Swan," Andromeda greeted, holding a kettle of coffee. Charlie was a regular at the diner, along with some other police officers. "You're coffee is black with two packets of sugar."

"Sure is," Charlie replied, knowing Molly had probably told her about all of the costumers preferred. Charlie took the cup she handed to him and smiled.

"How's Bella?" Andromeda didn't see the harm in asking Bella's father about her. After all, it was just another form of small talk.

"Not doing so well. She got a job at the Newton's outdoor shop, but ever since Jake stopped talking to her she's been worse than ever."

Andromeda paused for a moment, wondering why Jacob would stop talking to Bella. "Do you know what's wrong with Jacob? He's not like that."

"I know, it surprised me too. I tried talking to Billy about it, but he won't say anything." Charlie thought about it for a moment and decided it would be a good idea. If Andromeda was anything like her father, then he knew she'd make a good friend for his daughter. "Why don't you try to help her, Annie? Maybe you two can be good friends. I just don't want to see my daughter so upset; I'm even thinking about taking her to a therapist or getting her some kind of help."

Andromeda didn't want to sound rude by saying it sounded like a good idea, so she smiled and nodded. She honestly did think Bella needed help though. She had taken up motorcycling for some unknown reason, she was sometimes putting herself in danger, and now with Jacob gone she was back in her depression. Andromeda had to admit, she was no psychiatrist and she probably had her own mental problems to worry about, but it seemed to her that Bella was fond of growing dependent on people. It only made sense, first she was dependent on Edward to the point where seeing them together gave her no clue to the fact he was cheating on her. His leaving made her turn almost suicidal.

With Jacob, she found a new person to depend too. She was happy with him and only him, and didn't accept help or invitations from anyone else. She ignored everyone when she was with him, similar to the way she ignored everyone when she was with Edward, and now that he leaves her, her suicidal tendencies are back since there is no one to depend to and make her feel wanted.

Andromeda went to the kitchen to pick up some orders. She scoffed silently at herself as she delivered the orders. Maybe what Bella was doing was normal. Even Andromeda herself had only searched for Peter to, in a way, make herself feel wanted and loved by someone while Edward was gone. Edward had chosen someone else over her, and yet she refused to let him go, and for purely selfish reasons. Now that she thought about it…maybe she needed a therapist as well.

She decided to visit Bella on her lunch break, and Charlie gave her permission to enter the house in case she didn't answer. She drove to the house and looked at it for a moment. She began to think it was a bad idea, but the look of slight hope on Charlie's face made her keep going. She rang the doorbell and waited. No answer.

She rang it a few times and was about to open it when she figured that if Bella didn't want to see anyone then she shouldn't bother her. She turned around and saw it was beginning to rain. Great, it rained on the day she decided to straight iron her hair. "Very funny!" she yelled at the sky. She sat down on the steps of the house, wondering if she should wait until it stopped raining or make a run for it.

The humidity was bound to mess up her hair anyway, so making a run for it won't make much of a difference anyway. She found another reason to wait though, her sweater was cashmere. Edward had bought it for her when they went out several months ago. She smiled, remembering that day. Since he seemed to have more money than the U.S treasury, she went ahead and donated around fifty-thousand dollars he kept as 'spare change' to a charity organization. He intended to give it to her, but she really didn't find much need of the money and ever since she saw Forrest Gump, she had also believed that a man only needs so much money and the rest is just for showing off.

Still…she didn't want to ruin her cashmere sweater. She saw a truck in the distance carrying a motorcycle in the back. She realized that was Bella, and felt a bit of relief that she was only rejected because no one was in the house. Her truck turned a different direction and Andromeda couldn't help but wonder where she was going.

It wasn't like her to follow people, but she didn't want to be the one who said she was the last one to see her before she strangled herself using a branch. She followed Bella up to a certain point when Bella got out of her car and started running out towards the forest. Andromeda got out of the car as well. She was convinced Bella was suicidal, and man did she need help. She was running into the forest where they're saying people are getting mauled or murdered.

"Bella, stop!" Andromeda yelled, running towards her. It was too late though, and Bella ran into the forest. She had ruined her sweater anyway, her hair, and probably her make up, and now she let Bella run to her own death. Why people hired her to baby-sit, she had no idea. She wanted to run after her, but fear got the better part. She only found herself stepping away and she silently wished she wasn't being such a coward.

She turned around though and sat down on the hood of her car, scared to be alone and scared that she really might be the last one to see Bella alive. She let it rain on herself and started crying. Some part of her was crying because she failed to stop Bella, but a bigger, a much more evil part of her was crying because if Bella died…there would be no remorse. In fact, maybe there would be a little gratification that she was gone, since then Edward would be able to finally be with only Andromeda.

It was a terrible thought. Terrible actually didn't begin to describe it. It was a type of thought that was inhumane, that it only merely passed through a person's mind before they rejected it since they knew the monstrosity of the thought. Most of the time, it only appeared when people were angry and irrational, and they knew they didn't mean it. Andromeda excused the passed thought with that…she didn't mean it. She was only angry at Bella for being so stupid and running into the woods.

Andromeda found herself praying that she really hadn't become such an awful person. She sat down inside her car and turned on the heater. She decided she wouldn't hurt or start a fight with Bella over something like a boy. It was ridiculous fighting over someone. She also decided she didn't want Bella to die, everyone deserved to keep their life. Little did she know though, that Bella had already decided to give up her life…in exchange for Edward.

She saw something rustle from the corner of her eye and turned. She wasn't sure what it was, but she started the car to get out of there. She didn't want to just leave Bella as if it were nothing though, so she hesitated a bit. The rustling became more apparent and it seemed as if whatever was there was going around her. She spotted pieces of hair and slowly realized that it was fur.

So it was an animal that had been doing all of those things. She wanted to know what type of animal, since it didn't appear to be small at all, but she wasn't going out and risk getting killed. She only wished Bella hadn't done just that. She drove out of the way and went back to the diner, finding her lunch hour had run out. Charlie asked about Bella, and Andromeda had no idea what to say.

"She's…she's in the forests," Andromeda replied, guilty to have left her.

Charlie's eyes widened with fear and she saw he was trying to control himself. "Do you have any idea where?"

Andromeda nodded, "About thirty minutes from your house, near a trail. I followed her there but she ran to into the forest before I could stop her. Charlie, I also saw something. It looked like a big animal, like a really, really big animal…I'm sorry."

Her voice broke at the last two words, but Charlie only shook his head. "It's okay, you did the right thing." He quickly left and a few of the men followed. They were going out to search for Bella, and hope that they found her body at least still recognizable. Molly walked next to Andromeda, holding her chest in sorrow.

Molly shook her head and looked at Andromeda, "Don't you ever try to be brave Annie, just run away if you can. Trust me; all of us would rather have you a coward than dead."

Andromeda nodded, knowing that message was probably for Bella as well. She hugged her and for a moment let her cry because of the news. The customers were all silent as well, including Mike, who stood up to leave.

Lauren and Jessica only sat still, both not saying anything. Angela though, was already moved to tears. Ben only thought of comforting her, unbelieving that Bella might be gone for good. Andromeda left after Mike, knowing he probably would deal with it the worst. "Mike!" she called out, before he got any farther.

He turned and looked at her, but only shook his head. He didn't need any consolation, it wasn't him that was going through the most pain, it was Charlie. Andromeda walked forward to him anyway and for the first time in her life, hugged him. "It was probably because of Edward," Mike spat.

"We don't know if she's okay or not yet," Andromeda said, trying to console him.

Peter didn't need to know about Bella, he had his own job and he was no where near a break. The last thing she wanted was to give him some bad news. Mike sighed and looked towards the trees. Mike knew he shouldn't care so much, Bella had never liked him. It was obvious even to him, and Peter had shown him how futile his attempts with Bella really were.

He was jealous of Peter; that he got Andromeda who was devoted to him…or so Mike thought. Andromeda was always with her boyfriend, and her friends. She was always kind to people despite their rumors about her. Andromeda, in a way, was what he wanted and hoped Bella would become towards him. "I guess," Mike finally replied.

It was still raining, and now she had gotten wet again after drying herself. She got ready to turn back, wanting to give Mike some space. He only kept looking down though, and she figured it was due to his sadness. "I have to go," Andromeda said, unable to find another way to console him.

"Annie, wait," Mike said, reaching for her hand. She was skeptical about it, but she let him take her hand. It was Mike; she knew that he wouldn't do anything out of line.

"What is it?"

It was Mike, so it surprised her when he suddenly put his lips against her own. He quickly pulled away and continued walking to his car. It happened too fast for her, and she could barely believe that he kissed her. She looked towards him, the shock still not worn away.

Mike couldn't look back at her, not when he had imagined she was Bella. It made him feel guilty since he knew, for a while now, that Andromeda has had a crush on him since they were younger. On top of that, Andromeda had a boyfriend. He didn't know if she still liked him as much because of the boyfriend, or even if she liked him at all. If she did, he had no doubt that he probably ruined it for himself.

Andromeda didn't care how he tried to walk away. She tugged on his jacket, making him turn, and slapped him. "Why did you do that?" she asked, folding her arms. Now she was angry. She knew her boyfriend deserved more than this, more than just constant cheating by her, and damn it, she refused to do it anymore. Even it was a small kiss; it was more than enough to make her feel guilty for everything she had ever done wrong.

"I don't know," Mike replied, wanting to leave already. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about feelings and over complicate things more than they should be. He should just say it was a freak accident, he went overboard and that was all. He didn't mean it, and he won't do it again.

"Then figure it out…"

Mike sighed and shook his head, "It was a mistake. I'm sorry, I won't do it again…I just got carried away." She slapped him again and left towards the diner. It would've been so much better if it was a weaker girl, but it felt like Andromeda actually hurt his jaw. Mike knew it was probably just a big red mark though. "What was that for?" he called.

She turned to him slightly and scoffed, "For lying to me."

She finished her shift and went to her house, wondering if they found Bella. When she got there, her father informed her that they had, and that apparently what Bella saw were wolves, not bears. Andromeda couldn't help wondering about that. It didn't make sense to her how wolves could be so big; also, if Bella did see such large wolves, then Andromeda couldn't help but wonder why they didn't attack her.

It was relieving, somewhat, to know that Bella was okay. It wasn't relieving though, to know that it was actually wolves instead of bears. At least Andromeda wasn't as scared of bears as she was of wolves, but no, they were wolves. She tried calling Bella, but Bella didn't seem ready to pick up at any time. It wasn't unlike her, so Andromeda let it go. She called Peter instead, and told him about Mike. The reaction was nothing what she expected: he laughed.

"Mike? Mike Newton? Seriously kissed you? Like on the lips and everything?" Peter asked, still laughing.

Andromeda wondered if she should be worried or laugh along with him. "Yeah, on the lips. It was really quick though."

"Wow, I've been wondering when the guy was going to start to grow some balls."

"You…don't care?"

"It's Mike; I really think he won't do it again. He was probably going through some depression over Bella and kissed you thinking it was her instead. Plus, you slapped him…I think that's great."

"You heard about Bella?"

"Yeah, she was being suicidal over Edward again and ran into the woods. If I was her dad, I would've called a shrink a long time ago."

They kept talking for a while and Andromeda asked him if he was really okay about the Mike thing. Surprisingly, he said he really was. Peter didn't see any threat in Mike at all; all he saw was a broken guy with a crush. They hung up and each went on to do their book report. The teacher had been flexible with it, since he allowed the students to pick any book they wanted to do a book report on.

Crystal picked to do _Vampire Diaries_, since apparently _True Blood_ was out of the question. She also considered doing _Vampire Kisses_, but she disliked the protagonist of the story and would probably end up scorching her throughout the entire report. There was also _In Cold Blood_, by Truman Capote, but that would be a bit too hard for her since it was an actual nonfiction book and she would probably end up retelling the story.

Shane wouldn't disclose what he picked to do with Andromeda, but Andromeda imagined he picked something like OK! Magazine. Andromeda wasn't sure what she should do and considered a few different ones. There was _Lord of the Flies_, which was one of her father's favorites. There was also _A Thousand Splendid Suns_, but it made her uncomfortable to write about other cultures. Then _All Quiet on the Western Front _was there, but she heard it was about war and she wasn't fond of war books.

She knew she couldn't do _Romeo and Juliet_ again since she had already done it in the past and her teacher didn't allow her to do it again. She had no idea why he wouldn't just let her do the same as she always did and take her old report, reword it, turn it in, and get her D and go home happily. The first time she got an A, but after using it three more times, the teacher gave her Ds…at that was only because she bothered to reword it.

She decided to do _Lord of the Flies_ since she already had a copy of the book and it was the smallest one of all the options. She worked on her book report, which wasn't due until Monday. It surprised her that she was doing the work so early. After she was done, she simply went off to bed. She wasn't too excited about the next day though, since it was the day she would get to wear her formal diner uniform.

She didn't work a whole day the next morning at the diner, but she did wear the uniform that made her feel back in the fifties when people wore poodle skirts and bobby socks and thought that they were the most hip thing around. The uniform wasn't actually that bad, and not poofy at all. It was also fairly short, above her knees, considering who ran the place. He was an old fashioned type of guy, and he didn't want young girls disrespecting themselves and wearing skimpy clothing.

A couple of days passed and Charlie seemed to be more upset than ever. Andromeda didn't want to ask him what was going on as long as he seemed frustrated with something. She figured it was either the animal attacks or Bella; those two seemed to be the cause of all his grieves. She needed to get brave though, but it needed to sound like small talk.

"Something happened with Bella?" Andromeda asked casually, pouring another cup of coffee for him.

He shook his head, "No, not Bella this time. She says there's some Sam Uley kid causing trouble for Jacob. Apparently Jacob's friend, Quil, is pretty upset over it too. I already tried talking to Billy, but he says there just boys."

Andromeda shrugged, "Maybe he's right. Jacob is younger than Bella after all; maybe he's just…changing."

Charlie thought about it and understood. He whistled, "Hadn't thought about that. Still, it's making Bella go back into her depression."

"I'm sorry, Chief Swan."

"It's okay…I only wish she would've made some friends at her school."

Andromeda looked at Charlie for the longest brief second she ever experienced. Bella did have friends, she had more friends than any teenage girl had the right to have, she just left them all. Andromeda couldn't believe that Charlie didn't know anything about his daughter's life, not even the things that weren't bad at all. Her parents knew about her and Edward when they were a thing, and that wasn't even a good thing at all!

She started feeling sorry for Charlie. He seemed to care so much about Bella and Bella only repays him by keeping her life a secret and telling anyone who listens that she prefers her mother. It was obvious enough that Bella wasn't fond of her father, especially when she calls him by his first name. Andromeda dropped it, suddenly wanting to hug her own father for caring so much about her.

She got off and Charlie went off to hunt for whatever was out there. Some more hikers had gone missing, and whatever giant wolves were out there needed to be stopped. Andromeda decided to drive to the ballet studio, wanting to practice something her teacher was teaching her for Seattle.

Halfway through her journey though, she stopped, spotting Bella and Jacob in the dirt road where they were usually with each other. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea but she followed them from far behind. She didn't know exactly why she was doing so, maybe it was because it was part of the secret life not even her own father had a privilege of knowing about.

They stopped near the forest and Andromeda stopped as well, too far away for them to notice she was there. She got out of the car as she walked towards them slowly. They went into the forest though and before she caught a glimpse of them moving. She didn't know why, but she followed them through the woods. She didn't make much noise, luckily, and simply imagined that the roots were only bars that were needed to jump over.

The small shuffling of leaves and breaking of twigs that she made were excuse by Bella, who would trip on something every once in a while. They got to a clearing and Andromeda saw four other men waiting. She recognized Paul and Embry immediately, but the other two she was having more difficulty with. One of them mentioned the other and she soon found out who the other two were: Sam and Jared. Sam, Jared, Paul, and Embry were waiting for Bella and Jacob…that didn't make sense to her.

They started getting into an argument. Andromeda could barely hear what the others were saying, except Paul who was shouting. "I'm sure that leech-lover is just _dying _to help us out!" Paul shouted, loud enough that Andromeda could hear clearly.

"Don't talk about her like that!" Jacob shouted back. Andromeda, at this point, was still confused. They called Bella a 'leech-lover', so that must've meant that they knew. Andromeda couldn't believe it though. Did they really know about the Cullens? Andromeda stepped closer to hear more clearly, but it barely helped.

She wondered how long they had known about the Cullens and how. She didn't want to believe Bella just told them all. Sure, she was close to them, but Andromeda doubted that she was close enough to tell all of them a secret the Cullens worked to protect. There was shouting again, and Paul accused Jacob of protecting Bella.

Andromeda saw Paul beginning to run forward and wondered if it was because he was going to fight with Jacob. He was, but in a completely different way than she thought. The next thing she saw was Paul jumping and in mid-air fur suddenly burst out of his skin. She stepped back again as a giant wolf appeared. A wolf. The very same thing Bella said she saw in the woods.

Bella screamed Jacob's name as he started running forward as well. Before Andromeda could blink, he was already a giant wolf as well. She stepped back and for the first time, tripped over a root. She yelped and several twigs underneath her broke, creating enough noise to be heard by the four boys. They all turned towards her, and Bella eventually did too.

Bella began walking forward, and in shock, looked at the body in front of her. Andromeda only sat up and looked at Bella. For the longest time, chocolate brown met green.

* * *

**I'm going to give some background on how I decided this last part of the story. Firstly, I was reading my past chapters and I cringed the entire time. My grammar was terrible, my spelling awful, my spell check even worse, and I had so many run-on sentences that I just wanted to chop my hands off. I wasn't putting commas in my dialogue and I also didn't make any sentences. My dialogue was one big sentence that didn't make sense. To think, at that time I actually thought I was good. O.o**

**Not the important part though. To make up for my early terrible writing, I wanted to created a moment that was suspenful enough for my taste. I know that Bella is told by Jacob that he is a werewolf, but I know that would probably never tell Andromeda if it killed him. So...I decided to take the opportunity and create a somewhat, barely, suspenful moment in the story by having Andromeda find out on her own. **

**I want to point something out: you can assume Annie is wearing glasses or clear contacts. (I'm imagining glasses, but either one is fine)**

**Also, I'm very proud of the mother's speech in the beginning. Just thinking about everything that people need to pay for is tiring. To think, that was just a brief overview of everything, the details suck you dry (no pun intended...get it? Cuz Edward's a vampire and he sucks blood...I'll be quiet now XD). **

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Remember, I welcome constructive criticism and all types of opinions. But please, no flames, and try keeping choice of words clean. Thank you! Also, if you don't like the story, or if you feel discontent, tell me why! I love to hear the reasons behind everything because I'm curious and I love overcomplicating everything. XD**

**Until next time! Thanks for reading! **

**Plz Review! **

**XxKissOfDeathxX**


	17. Stop

**Chapter 17! In my opinion, a lot happens in this chapter...towards the end. XD Well, I don't know why, but I started thinking about the twilight movies. I liked the cast except Edward, which in my opinion should've been Gaspard Ulliel. It's not that Robert Pattison isn't good looking, it's just Gaspard is better looking. XD I understand why they couldn't get him though, or why he wasn't considered. Lol. **

**Not the point XD. Well, I have to say, I was like reading my reviews and then it dawned on me: I have 99, and that's so close to a hundred! I'm so excited to get that final 100th review if anyone liked this (or disliked) XD It's like so awesome because I never imagined it getting this far. A lot of you are asking about the whole Italy thing, and don't worry, I have come up with something. All to do now is wait (Italy is about three or two chapters away from now). **

**Disclaimer: I don't own twilight...O.o**

* * *

Andromeda looked away first, wanting to stand up. She couldn't believe what she saw: Jacob was a…wolf. She began to wonder if it was Jacob and the other four that had been killing all those people all along. She also wondered if Bella knew about it the entire time. It made sense, since for some reason she was spared when she went into the woods. Andromeda shook her head though. She couldn't, she refused, to believe that Bella knew about those people dying the whole time and just let Jacob kill them.

It was making sense though. Bella was the first to know that they were giant wolves, and maybe she told Charlie to cover up her connection with them. She was sending Charlie into the forest everyday though. Was Bella planning to kill her own father? Andromeda shut her eyes and tried to wake up from whatever weird dream she was having, but it was real.

She turned back to Bella, her face clearly showing betrayal. "You knew they were killing people and you just let them? What are they anyway!" she yelled, looking over at the two fighting wolves. The wolf with the brown fur went forward and turned back into Jacob.

Bella was in too much shock to actually begin to register anything, "Andromeda, you don't understand. They don't kill people; they're trying to protect people."

"Then who is killing those people?"

Jacob walked forward and reached Andromeda. He saw that she was shaken up, and not really understanding what was going on. "Annie, relax," he said, reaching out for her arm. She slapped his arm away and stepped back, staring angrily at him. He began to feel guilty when she kneeled down and held her head, being confused over everything. "I'm not human."

Andromeda looked up at him and scoffed, "I guessed that much." Bella was telling her that they protected people, but she told the entire town that it was wolves that were killing people. Jacob leaned down and tried helping her up. "Don't touch me!" she snapped, afraid of whatever Jacob was.

He didn't want to blame her for being afraid. She wasn't as ready to accept the existence of supernatural beings as Bella was. He didn't expect, though, for Andromeda to stand up and begin running away. "Jake," he heard Bella say next to him. She was worried Andromeda might tell someone about what she saw, and he was too. He ran after her, finding catching her wasn't as simple as he thought.

She moved quickly and was small enough that she passed through tight areas with more easiness than him. He considered turning back into a wolf, but thought it'd be too much just to chase a human girl. He finally caught up with her though and stopped her from running any further. "I can explain!" Jacob said, exasperated.

"Then do!" Andromeda retorted.

"We're…werewolves. We're not the ones killing those people out there, it's another being, the only reason we exist, our enemies." Jacob searched Andromeda's face to see if she knew the answer, but she still seemed oblivious. Of course, Andromeda also didn't know about vampires like Bella, there was no way she would.

Well, that's what Jacob thought. In actuality, Andromeda just couldn't put two and two together. "Werewolves?" she asked, and before she knew it, she was being led back to the others. She didn't notice moving, and she realized it was because Jacob was carrying her. Man, was she out of it.

"Does she know now?" Bella asked and Jacob nodded.

Andromeda still stepped back, shaking her head, "So werewolves exist? And they're half-naked?" The other boys shrugged and looked back at her, suddenly entertained.

"I need to say something too," Bella began and walked towards Andromeda, "Vampires exist as well, and that's who Jake and the others are trying to protect us from. The cold ones."

Andromeda just leaned against a tree for balance, "What is this? Van Helsing? I don't understand…Dracula never had a problem with werewolves. Maybe Frankenstein needs to teach you two to get along."

"Frankenstein's a monster," Jacob pointed out.

"I'll generalize him if I want. So, you're telling me that you turn into a giant dog that's against human shaped parasites?" Jacob nodded. Andromeda began laughing for some unknown reason, which confused everyone. "Wow, so you—he—wolves and Bella… Oh my gosh, this is just—and crazy—wolves—him." She continued laughing awkwardly and Jacob wondered if he should be worried.

Embry looked at Jared. "I think we broke her," he said and Jared shrugged.

"I'm just gonna—and yeah…cold ones," she muttered. Before anyone had the chance to ask her if she was okay, she answered the question by passing out. Jacob caught her and looked at Sam, searching for an answer on what to do. Sam sighed and walked a bit towards Bella and Jacob.

He looked at Andromeda and figured that she would wake up and believe it was one bad dream. He considered taking her home, but he didn't want to draw suspicion since she was unconscious and Jacob's clothes were torn. "Set her down somewhere, she'll wake up," Sam finally decided.

Bella looked at him with surprise. He intended to leave her near the forest. "You can't!" Bella said towards him and Jacob and Jacob nodded. "There are vampires out here, Victoria. What if they…kill her?"

Jacob looked down at Andromeda and felt a wave of sympathy. He was engaged to her sister after all. "Let's take her with us," Jacob finally decided. Paul was about to say something but was stopped by Jared and Embry. They tried to make Paul relax to avoid another fight, and another person peeping in on them.

They continued talking to Bella, asking her how she figured out that Jacob was a werewolf. She stated that it was a lucky guess, and they picked her up and put her in the car. The only thing she knew about where they were going was that it was Emily's house. Jared was the one to carry Andromeda, and he didn't complain much. Embry only scoffed at him. Sure, he carries the girl.

Jared and Embry told Bella that Emily was Sam's fiancée, and that Jacob, Paul, and Sam would meet up with them later. Andromeda slowly started waking up, but fell back down at the movement of the truck. "Okay, Bella might not blow, but she definitely will," Jared said. He smiled towards Embry, "Five bucks?"

Embry glanced at Andromeda and scoffed, "No way, I'm not paying for you to get barfed on."

Bella looked back at her and wondered if she would throw up. She winced at the idea; she really didn't want to clean Andromeda's puke off her car. They kept talking about Laurent. Bella explained that he wasn't a friend of the Cullen clan, and they went on to talk about the treaty that was made between them. If the Cullens bit a human, then they had a right to attack them.

Bella was relieved that Jacob didn't wait for Laurent to bite her. They arrived at Emily's house, where Andromeda finally is able to wake up. "Yeah, don't stare at Emily. That bugs Sam," Embry said and Bella nodded. Jared didn't waste anytime setting Andromeda down on a nearby couch when they entered the house. Bella noticed it was mostly kitchen, with the small area Andromeda was on.

"My head," Andromeda whined, holding her head. Embry hit Jared's arm and Jared shrugged. At this point, Embry was only upset he didn't take the bet. The disappointment soon passed though, because Andromeda finally heaved. Bella was thankful it wasn't in her truck.

"I'll help her, you boys help yourselves," Emily said, walking towards Andromeda. Andromeda looked up and almost gasped when she saw the scar across her face. She overheard one of them explaining to Bella that it was an accident, and Sam didn't mean to. Andromeda was shocked. Sam was abusing this girl and she didn't mind.

Andromeda tried to avoid looking at the scar and just focused on something else. She then noticed something that was completely irrelevant: what an ugly dress. It made her figure too wide, the colors didn't compliment her, and it made her look like a tired housewife from the thirties with a demanding husband and three sons. That's when she realized it: Shane has influenced her too much.

"Here, I got you a bag of ice. It'll help," Emily said. She sounded so soft-spoken, which only fed on to the thirties housewife. Andromeda smiled as kindly as she could at her, feeling sorry for the scar, and accepted the bag. "You must be one of their new friends too." She chuckled and shook her head, "I swear; I feel like they're bringing new people everyday."

"Actually, she saw Jake transform into a wolf and passed out," Embry said, eating a muffin.

"Yeah, it was pretty awesome. She babbled for like two whole minutes and bam! She hit the floor," Jared continued taking one of the muffins from Embry.

Emily turned back towards Andromeda, worried etched on her face. "I'm so sorry, that must've been horrible for you," she said, putting her hand gently on Andromeda's. Emily looked back at Bella and went to attend her. She needed to clean up the vomit though; she didn't like an untidy house.

The others finally arrived and Sam greeted Emily with a loving kiss. Andromeda figured he couldn't be that bad, especially with the way he said her name. He seemed to really love Emily to the point where it made Andromeda feel somewhat awkward. She didn't mind much though. After all, she went to high school, and public display of affection was a normal thing, not looked up upon, but nevertheless done.

Bella seemed to be in a more awkward position than her and they soon began talking about the vampire named Victoria, which Andromeda had no idea who she was. Bella looked towards Andromeda, and went over to explain. She sat down and for a moment seemed to have difficulty with words. "Andromeda, um, you know now that werewolves exist…right?"

Andromeda nodded, "Yeah, I was still hoping it was a dream, but I'll accept it."

"Well," Bella continued, "Vampires do to. You see, Edward and his family are vampires, and not too long ago there was another vampire, James, that was after me. Edward managed to kill James, but…his mate, Victoria, wants revenge now."

Andromeda nodded. She had an easy time believing Edward was a vampire, she knew that much. Still, she pretended to act surprised at that piece of information. She remembered Edward telling her vaguely about James, Victoria, and Laurent, but she couldn't recall it very clearly. "You're in danger?" Andromeda asked, leaning back on the couch.

The rest nodded and Jacob interrupted, "Let's hope you're not." Andromeda swallowed and tried to think about it rationally. So, there were a bunch of werewolves chasing after a vampire because a girl's vampire boyfriend killed the other's boyfriend. That made absolutely no sense! Vampires were enough for her, now werewolves existed too! What was next? Frankenstein and Harry Potter were sitting down have tea and scones with the queen of England? Andromeda shook the thoughts out of her head and nodded.

"So…Edward's a vampire?" she asked, trying to sound innocent about it.

"Yeah, who knew the leech was so popular?" Jacob said, looking annoyed. Bella had told him that Edward and Andromeda were friends. Jacob didn't believe it one bit; he chose to believe the rumors instead. There was no way that parasite and Andromeda were 'just friends'. Jacob bet that he and Andromeda were probably seeing each other secretly.

"I just…can I have a minute? I'm sorry for passing out back there, and my head hurts, and now I'm getting information overload and I swear I have whiplash."

"Give her some space, let's talk over there," Sam decided. They all left Andromeda to give her some room, but Emily stayed behind, worried that she might feel bad again. She tried motioning that she was okay, and Emily simply nodded and brought her a muffin. They kept talking about Victoria and such, and Bella seemed to be the center of the topic. She did know the most about Victoria, and she was also the perfect bait. Jacob was against using her as bait though.

Jared decided that he would take Andromeda home, since it was obvious she honestly didn't want to be there. Bella stayed with Jacob, but made sure she talked to Andromeda. She made Andromeda promise to keep everything a secret, which Andromeda agreed to. "I guess you know everything now," Bella said, looking at Andromeda.

The way she looked at her made Andromeda feel almost sick again. She really did believe Edward would never do anything wrong. She didn't care if he's killed people before or if he cheated on her. Love can turn someone to be so irrational…she knew that personally. "I guess," Andromeda said. She looked around for a moment and realized that Bella didn't have any human friends anymore. Andromeda thought Jacob was still there, but as it turns out, Jacob's a werewolf. "So, what did you do for the book report?"

Bella shrugged, "I wrote a feminist perspective of the Princess Bride."

"Oh, I love that movie…I didn't know it was a book."

Bella laughed, "Yeah, it is."

Andromeda waved goodbye at her and left with Jared. He escorted her to her car and for a moment looked around it. "Do you want me to come with you?" he asked with a hopeful look in his eye. Andromeda wondered why he would want to but accepted anyway. He seemed to be excited to be in the car and she wondered if he had ever been in a car that wasn't really old or broken down. He kept on explaining how he was taking a risk by letting her drive while playing her radio.

Andromeda laughed and pushed his hand away from the abused radio. "How are you going to get back?" she asked, glancing at him. He only shrugged and told her he'd run back. She still couldn't believe that he was a werewolf too, not when he acted so…normal. Then again, Edward acted pretty…well, somewhat normal most of his time. A little old fashioned, but if it were the twenties again, he'd be totally normal.

They got to her house and she waved him off as he ran into the woods. She presumed he didn't change into a werewolf and just kept running, since she really didn't want to think anything about the supernatural at that moment. She got in and explained to her parents that she went to La Push to visit Jacob and some of his friends. Her parents were pretty interested in why Andromeda had suddenly taken an interest to Jacob, and silently hoped she wouldn't repeat what she did with Edward.

She only went to her room to finish her book report. She printed it out and sighed. Now that the homework was done, and there was only one day of school left before spring break, she wondered what she should do. It was too late to go to practice her dancing, and she didn't want to be rude and call her instructor. So she called Crystal and Shane instead.

"My head hurts so much right now," Andromeda said, eating some carrots.

She heard Crystal munching on something over the line and laugh, "Good idea, whine and you'll feel better."

Shane scoffed at something and shook his head, "No Dina, there are no pillows in jail." Crystal and Andromeda rolled their eyes at his statement and figured he was reading something about Lindsey Lohan being in jail again.

"Hey, are you done with the book report?" Crystal asked, sounding like she was eating something new, something softer.

"Yeah, I just finished. Lord of the Flies wasn't as hard as I thought," Andromeda replied.

"I quit Vampire Diaries and did In Cold Blood instead. Oh my God, Stephen is such a wuss in Vampire Diaries. I should've done Interview with a Vampire, but I think our teacher's a homophobe."

Shane chuckled and put his magazine down, "I feel sorry for the guy because he's really trying to 'sympathize' with me."

They laughed and once again Shane started talking about the latest gossip. They planned to go shopping when Spring Break started and get some new outfits. He was already talking about what he might get for himself and for the girls. He refused to let Crystal wear any of that gothic, emo freak stuff and was actually going to dress her in a way that made her look good. Ryan would appreciate it.

Andromeda finished talking with them and decided to make plans with Peter. She didn't realize how easy it was to forget that vampires and werewolves were real when she was talking to her friends and boyfriend. She wondered if Bella would have an easier time coping with everything if she had some normal friends as well. She finished talking with Peter and they decided to go on a dinner date next Friday. She went to sleep, and she smiled when she thought about the day.

It made her happy to know that was comfortable around Bella now, it was a reminder that she really was over Edward. The guilt was barely nonexistent now, and was fading every night a cold kiss was absent. She woke up the next morning, feeling somewhat more confused over what happened yesterday, but she still remembered. She shivered her room somewhat colder than she remembered. She pushed it aside and got ready for her class.

She decided to straight iron her hair that day, seeing as it was the last day until spring break. Unless, of course, her teacher somehow got the faculty to agree to extend it to Wednesday, when they would get their project results back. She looked at herself in the mirror after applying her make-up and wondered if she looked better with straight or wavy hair. She preferred wavy hair herself, but she's heard so many times that others preferred straight hair. At least everyone agreed that they liked her bangs, which reached just above her eye.

She got to school and eventually it was time for English. Mr. Banner seemed to be in a really good mood that day, and decided that he would give the bad news to the students after they turned in their projects. "Now," he began, after he received the final book report, "I am happy to inform that all of you will be seeing what you got on this since, low and behold, classes are now extended until Wednesday."

The class groaned and a couple of kids complained. The announcements showed up at fifth period, stating the same thing. Andromeda really disliked Mr. Banner now. They reached the lunch period and Peter decided to sit with Andromeda and her friends. He kissed Andromeda on the cheek, and she playfully pushed him away.

"Those bastards! I can't believe we have to wait until Wednesday!" Crystal exclaimed, throwing a sandwich together. "I made plans with Ryan for tomorrow, but no, it's school now."

Shane scoffed, "This gets in the way of our date that was supposed to be for Wednesday. I am so pissed right now that I'm about to have a bitch fit."

Peter only laughed and they all looked at him. Andromeda smiled when she realized what he was laughing about. "Well," he began, "This doesn't get in the way of our plans." They looked at Andromeda and shook their heads. Of course, none of her plans are ruined…how predictable. Andromeda looked back at Bella and sighed when she saw how silent she was next to her 'friends'. If only Bella made an actual effort to form a friendship with normal people, then she wouldn't be so upset.

The day ended and Andromeda hurried to the diner, where she worked for three hours. After the diner, she ran across town to the ballet studio to practice with her instructor. Ms. Patel was bent on working Andromeda until she got every step perfect. She worked hard enough getting Andromeda that audition, that may lead her to Julliard, and eventually international, and she wasn't going to let that hard work go to waste. "Practice your Italian Fouettes. Also, when performing arabesque penchée, make sure you show no struggling with your balance, not even the slightest shake or quiver is acceptable. Next time, I expect you to also have perfected your Fouette Jete…you're dismissed."

Andromeda nodded and left; her legs a bit sore. The days continued on like that until it was finally Wednesday and they got back their book reports. Andromeda was nervous. This was the first time she thought she did a good job with something other than Romeo and Juliet, and she was slightly excited. The teachers started handing out the reports, commenting on each one carelessly to the class if they got a high enough grade.

"Crystal White, pick up your report of In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. Good job on analyzing writing style and technique. Also, I must say, you're character analysis of Dick and Perry was pretty superb. Good job," Mr. Banner announced. Crystal blushed at the sound of her name, which she was convinced was just a pun her parents created. She smiled happily and showed Andromeda her new A minus.

Mr. Banner went through a few more and finally got to Shane's. "Shane Palatto, pick up your interesting book report of Miles to Go by Miley Cyrus. I thought it was very interesting how you interpreted the 'prince charming' she was talking about to be obviously Nick Jonas because, as you state here: 'Every chick in Disney Channel is hot for his balls'. I deducted some points for language but…hey, it was your choice."

Shane smiled at his C minus, and wondered if it was his interpretation of Telephone by Lady Gaga that made him get the low score. "Mr. Banner, if this C is about the Telephone thing I included, I think you should be giving me extra points."

Mr. Banner smiled and shook his head, "I admire how you were able to find out that her song revolves around bad phone reception, but I won't accept comments like, and I'll censor it: 'If the b-word doesn't want to talk with the guy, she should just hang up instead of giving the phone to Beyonce.'"

Shane sighed and sat back down. Some teachers just don't know good literature nowadays. He smiled excitedly and put away his well earned C. He knew he probably got some slack from the teacher because he was…special, in other words, gay. Shane once explained it to Crystal and Andromeda that he preferred to be called gay than homosexual. In fact, he even preferred fag, he didn't like faggot though.

The teacher finally called Andromeda last and she knew what that meant: she got the lowest grade. She went over to him, since he would only call her name out, and waited for him to say something. He sighed and took off his glasses as the bell rung and the class was dismissed. "Annie," he began, looking sympathetic. He handed her the paper and she groaned when she saw the D on it. He cleared his throat and she looked back at him.

"I admire that you chose to do such a challenging book, but maybe you should've asked for some help with this one. You manage to correctly point out the characteristics in each boy and how it's useful for survival and how it led to their final state, but you failed to really put significance to it. You also don't mention the conch shell or Piggy's glasses, both which are vital in the story. I like how you explain Piggy as the more mature one, but I need to know that you know that Piggy is supposed to represent the voice of reason and the adult figure in this book. It is his death that symbolizes the end of reason for the boys, and when the true nature of man takes over," Mr. Banner explained.

Andromeda nodded, suddenly interested in his explanation. He could see that and continued. "You also failed to analyze the title itself. The title, Lord of the Flies, is a definition given to the word Beezlebub, which was used to refer to Satan, the ultimate figure of evil. So when the pig's head is talking to Simon, who is supposed to represent purity, it is the Lord of the Flies talking to him. Also notice that throughout the story the conch shell starts fading color and losing significance, and this correlates to Piggy's glasses and the rate they're broken. Both of them mean law and order, and so when Piggy, the voice of reason, is killed, so is law and order. What I mean to say is: the story is not about a bunch of school boys trying to survive on an island. It is about the evilness of man's heart. How man, in his most natural state, is a selfish, evil creature with no regards to life except his own."

Andromeda listened and looked down. Man in his natural state were evil beings…somehow, that made sense. He gave her a new assignment for spring break and expected her to do a better job. She was to write a synthesis essay on My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult. Her job was to either defend or refute his statement on top and use the five pieces of information as evidence to her choice. He thought it would be a lot easier for her to comprehend since the subject itself is widely known.

Thursday arrived and Andromeda and her friends went to shop at Port Angeles. Shane was going crazy buying so many things that she wondered where he would get the money for it. He got her some violet shirts to match her eye color with her contacts on and some green shirts for when she decided to go with glasses. "Oh my God, this is so tacky not even Perez Hilton would touch it," Shane said, throwing away some shirt.

"This is pretty awesome," Crystal said, holding up a Nightmare before Christmas shirt. Shane took it away and refused to let her touch it again.

Andromeda kept looking at a long-sleeved shirt and eventually picked it up. "This one's nice," she said. It was a light violet-gray color with a black undershirt which had strings that needed to be tied around the neck. Shane looked at it for a moment and paired it up with the right skirt or jeans, which ever Andromeda preferred. He preferred the skirt, but he always liked it when girls showed off some skin. Andromeda chose the pants though, much to his disappointment.

Andromeda was paying for the clothes when she got a text from some of her friends from the restaurant. It was Sharon saying that she wanted to give something back to Andromeda. Shane and Crystal thought it would be a good idea if she went, but she was worried that it might take too long. Shane and Crystal weren't worried though, they could just call a cab or something.

"What do you think she wants?" Crystal asked, drinking a Dr. Pepper while eating a Twinkie.

"God, you are such a pig," Shane said, taking away the Twinkie from her.

Andromeda shrugged and tried asking her about it. She didn't respond though, and only said that Andromeda had better come. "I don't know," Andromeda replied. "Amber's not really fond of me, not since Edward stared at me with 'googly eyes', whatever that is."

Crystal laughed, "Yeah, back then when you and Bella were doing the nasty with him."

Andromeda slapped her arm playfully and smiled, "You're such a pervert. I mean, for the last time, we never had sex!"

Shane scoffed, "Sure Annie, whatever you say."

"I'm serious!"

They continued laughing until Shane and Crystal dropped Andromeda off at the restaurant and called a cab. Andromeda wasn't ready to go in yet though, so she walked around for a while. She passed a few stores and waved at some of the people she knew. She had gotten to know them by working in the restaurant for so long, it made her feel sad that she never saw them again.

She passed by a small pet shop, where she looked at the animals from the window. There was this one puppy, which seemed to be scratching the window to get her attention. She looked down and saw the little dog chasing its tail and barking towards her, almost smiling. It had white fur with a somewhat yellowish tint, and sported a puppy cut. She couldn't help but smile and giggle as the dog continued to entertain her. "Annie?" she heard someone say. She looked up and smiled at the owner.

"Hey," Andromeda said, standing up. She glanced back at the puppy, who seemed more excited than ever. The owner of the store looked at the dog and laughed. "Is he happy about something?"

The owner nodded, "Yeah, she always gets that way when she sees a person walking by. Poor pup, wants to have a home already. All her siblings already found some homes but here she is, still waiting."

Andromeda smiled towards the puppy, which jumped in excitement. It was so fast, but the puppy seemed to have stolen her heart. She suddenly yearned that she could be the one to provide the pup with a home. "She's beautiful. What's breed is she?"

"Maltese, good house pets, but big yappers. This one's the loudest of them all. She hasn't stopped her barking since we got her, and the thing's barely a month old." The owner saw how much Andromeda seemed to be enjoying the dog and smiled. "Hey, you can hold her if you want."

Andromeda nodded, not wanting to miss the opportunity. He led her inside and took the puppy out of her little box. It seemed to be barking more than ever and it was eager to be in a person's arms. Andromeda held the little girl and laughed when she started licking her face. "How much does she cost?"

"Three-hundred dollars."

Andromeda's heart dropped at the sound of the price and she dreaded putting the puppy down. The dog didn't seem to understand why Andromeda was handing her back to the owner and started whining. Its dreams of finding a home shattered. The dog's whining broke Andromeda's heart and she bid the owner farewell. "I'm sorry," she said, both to the dog and clerk.

"It's fine, maybe this girl will find an owner soon," he said, putting the dog back in her little box. It was no longer jumping happily as it knew that Andromeda was not intending to give her a home. Andromeda petted it for one last time before leaving towards the restaurant, almost completely heartbroken. When she got there, Sharon automatically greeted her and led her to the back, which she knew well.

Amber was there, taking her break, and she smiled at Andromeda. "So, have you seen him lately?" she asked.

Andromeda regarded her with a strange look, "Who?" Her mind was still in a daze over the dog.

"That really hot guy that was here with that other girl. Edmund? Edgar? Edward?"

"Edward," Andromeda clarified. "No, I haven't seen him in months."

Amber didn't bother asking anymore questions and Andromeda wondered if she was thinking that maybe she might have a chance with him. Andromeda wasn't going to put it beyond him. Maybe he would like Amber and have an affair with her too, add that conquest to his list. Amber left once her break was over and started working again. It was getting really late, and Andromeda needed to head home, but they insisted on her waiting.

Andromeda checked her watch; it was half past twelve in the morning and way past her curfew. She wasn't supposed to be still there. She wanted to go home and she finally put her foot down and started leaving. "Wait!" Sharon exclaimed. Andromeda turned around, wanting to explain that she just couldn't wait anymore. Instead, she saw Sharon, Amber, and the rest of the workers holding a cake. Andromeda then realized what it was: a farewell party.

"You just left us once, don't do it again," Sharon said and Andromeda just smiled and hugged her. They talked for a bit, knowing that Andromeda lived some time away and she needed to get home as soon as possible. She grabbed some slices for Shane, Crystal, her parents, and Cat and left for her car. It was a kind thing they did, and she left in a good mood. Hopefully, the cake will help with her parents.

She started driving home and decided to play some music, since it was so quiet and the dark unnerved her. She then decided to turn it off, just in case Victoria could hear and she decided Andromeda would be a good enough meal. She thought about the dinner date she had with Peter tomorrow and became excited. It was one of the few official dates they had. She looked at the clock, and it was already one in the morning. She still needed forty more minutes to get home.

Edward sat on the tree outside her room, wanting to visit her again. He looked through the windows and found nobody there, which worried him. He had stayed away from her for weeks, but found every day harder to do so. He knew she was happier though, that's why he was always cautious that he didn't wake her up. She wasn't there though, so he was worried.

He jumped down from the tree and walked towards one of the windows, trying to hear what her family was saying. They were worried, and her mother was shouting and crying. She was afraid that Andromeda might've been the next victim and when she saw her, her baby would be dead. Her father thought something similar, but he didn't want to think of his daughter being dead, that would put him in the same state as her mother at that moment. Cat was crying as well, wondering what was going on. Edward was more worried than ever and he got even more unnerved since Andromeda didn't have a phone with her.

They tried calling her friends and Edward listened, worry making him sick. They said that they left her in Port Angeles, and that was the last time they saw her. That made her mother's wails even louder. She tried to control herself though; she tried to think that her daughter wasn't killed by some animal. She knew Andromeda wouldn't just run into the woods at night. He decided not to take any chances, he had to find her.

Andromeda sighed and wished she had a cellphone with her. That way she could start explaining to her parents why she was so late. She looked back at the pieces of cake and became curious to know what they tasted like. She didn't want to eat it since it was chocolate, but she hadn't tasted cake in years. Maybe she could just have a bite when she got home. One bite wouldn't hurt any, she was just curious is all.

Andromeda knew it was too late to be driving and she was growing tired, so she decided to slow down her speed to gain some better control of the car. She looked ahead and saw some headlights coming towards her. She wondered if they were in the right lane and eventually got close enough to see that they weren't. 'Are they going to change lanes?' she thought. She began to grow worried and shifted to the left lane, so the other car had the right lane despite him going the wrong way.

The driver seemed to lose control for a moment and the car swerved, which made Andromeda fidget and afraid. She wasn't sure if the car was going to go back into the right lane, but it did. The driver seemed to correct himself and went into the left lane and she finally relaxed and switched lanes herself. She looked at the car but found it was moving back to her lane and she wondered what the driver was thinking.

She began to panic and slowed down. He wasn't moving from her lane. He was in a head-on collision course towards her, and he wouldn't move. She tried moving back to the left lane but the other car swerved and followed her there. She panicked again and turned towards the right. 'What's wrong with him!' Andromeda thought, wanting to cry. He wasn't moving. He was heading straight for her and she had no idea what to do. She looked at the shoulder of the road and began to turn the wheel to move towards it. He wasn't moving. It was too late. It was the last thing she saw clearly.

There was a sound of screeching made by the brakes of a car and suddenly, faster than a blink, the other car had slammed into the Toyota. Andromeda was pushed forward, but the seat belt stopped her from hitting the wheel of her car. The airbags didn't seem fast enough, since the glass was already falling everywhere around her, cutting her face and skin. The hood of the car burst open and the engine was pushed back towards the dashboard by the other car. It felt like it was almost sitting on her lap. She suddenly found it hard to breath and there was a sharp pain in her upper body.

The collision wasn't through yet though, because Andromeda's car skidded towards the right, and the other towards the left. She fell back and hit her head against the windows on the side of her car, which now left a bloody mark. Finally, her car was stopped by a tree, which destroyed the back, but didn't cause her anymore harm.

She screamed for the duration of the crash, but was now silent. She was now silent. Edward was too late. Edward arrived and looked at the scene in horror. He was too late. He kept repeating that to himself, unbelieving of what he saw. He noticed smoke coming from the Toyota and realized that her car was on fire. He ran as fast as he could towards her and went towards the driver's side. He yanked opened the door and the image was more than he could stand.

She was unconscious, her face and arms bleeding with fragments of glass lodged into her skin. The left side of her head was staining her hair red and blood seemed to flow from her nose freely. Her neck was bruised due to the seat belt and the engine was so past the dashboard, that it looked that it was sitting on her lap. He noticed that her legs were not as nearly as damaged as her upper body and was grateful that at least some of her was spared.

It hurt him to take her out, because she felt like a corpse. He tried his best to hear any signs of thinking, any images, any thoughts, anything that might let him know that she was still there. He didn't though, it was silent. "Andromeda," he whispered, holding her in his arms. He didn't want to see her like this, it was his worst nightmare. He carried her away from the burning car before the fire was able to reach her seat.

He set her down on the grass and called the paramedics. He didn't want to risk carrying her to the hospital; he didn't trust himself like he usually did. At least, not when something so important to him was on the line. "Andromeda, try to wake up," he silently begged, but she didn't move. It was too painful to think about, it was too painful a thought to think that she was actually dead.

He tilted her chin up and checked her breathing, praying that he might hear or feel something. He did. She was faintly breathing, but it was strained and ragged. He thanked whoever needed to be thanked for letting her live. He turned towards the other driver, feeling angry towards him. He walked towards the other car and saw a young man, probably in his late teens, come out. He had nothing more than a couple of scratches here and there.

Edward's anger turned to rage when he saw the young man holding what appeared to be a beer bottle. He looked at the boy and saw that he seemed to be having trouble with his balance and even focusing on the light. He was drunk. His head lolled down every once in a while and Edward found it difficult not to kill him, right then and there.

That drunken bastard was the one that did this to his Annie. He looked back at Andromeda, who was still unmoving, and suddenly the rage took over him. Edward threw the bottle aside and threw him across the road. Before the man could register what happened, Edward was pinning him down, choking him. It was so easy just to move his hand and break his neck, but he restrained himself. "Damn you," Edward seethed, his anger boiling to the point where it was becoming unbearable not kill him.

He had broken Andromeda. He had hurt her. He might have killed her. He had destroyed her when she did nothing wrong. She didn't do anything wrong. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve to be hit like that. It was his fault. He was the one who drank. He was the one who decided he could drive. He was the one who hit her. It was his fault. Edward's grip around the man's neck tightened and he decided it was better not to let scum like him live.

'Edward.' He stopped and loosed his grip around the man, who was at the brink of unconsciousness. He looked towards Andromeda again, and saw her eyes were barely open, but open nevertheless. He looked back at the man, anger still in his heart. It broke him apart to see her, and he wanted revenge. 'Edward…stop.'

He looked at her again, realizing that it wasn't his imagination; it really was her thinking to him. "I can't!" he yelled, the pain in his chest increasing to the point where it was becoming numb. It was like pressing on a cut, it would sting terribly at first, but eventually, the pain would numb down. 'Please,' she continued thinking. 'Don't kill him.'

He turned towards her, not wanting to yell at her but finding it hard to contain his anger. "Why can't I? Why can't I when he hurt you like this! This was his fault and he should pay for it!" Edward knew he was acting immature, but he couldn't help it, not when it was Andromeda who was so hurt. She moved her arm slightly towards him, trying to reach for him. Edward heard her thoughts of pain and begged her to stop moving. She did, but only because she was too weak to continue.

'Edward…I don't want you to be a monster,' she thought. She moved her hand slightly towards him, the pain reaching her again. "I love you," she said, her voice coming out broken and barely a whisper.

He ground his teeth and let go of the man beneath him, making sure he was still conscious. He went to her instead, and held her close to him. She still loved him, even after all that he did and failed to do, she still loved him. "I love you too," he whispered, trying not to break down in front of her. 'I'm glad,' he heard her think. She tried moving her arms, but was stopped by him. "Don't move…it'll hurt less."

She slightly nodded and let him hold her bloodied hand. She was afraid. She was afraid that she might never see him again, never see Peter, or her parents again. She would never see Cat grow up, her friends, never live to see the day she gets handed a diploma. Her dreams would never come true…everything would be gone. She never imagined this happening to her and she was afraid of what was next. She coughed, which hurt her lungs. "Edward…am I going to die?"

Another shot of pain burst through his body and he shook his head. "No…don't think that," he replied. He wouldn't let her die; he refused to let her leave the world yet. He wanted her to be happy, not dying, and most of all, he wanted her dreams to become a reality…not be buried with her. "Don't die." He couldn't help whispering that, not when he felt so weak. He couldn't do anything. He couldn't take her to get help, nor could he give her help, he couldn't stop what happened, or what was happening. He was useless.

'Do you think I'll go to hell?' she thought, remembering all the times she was with Edward.

"No, you're staying here…you're going to live," he said, wanting her to stop thinking about her death. He cleaned out some of the blood in her face, which he found was the most he could do. She thought back to them, and shook her head. 'What about what we did?' she thought, her voice already lost. Edward kissed her forehead and shook his head, "Everyone's allowed one sin."

His heart had never felt so heavy, and his eyes and throat burned with absent tears. He didn't care about the blood; he could only see a suffering Andromeda, and more than anything: he wanted to save her. He gently pressed his lips against hers, and he could feel her softly kissing him as well. Her cold kiss had returned, and she was happy but heartbroken. Edward separated and looked at her, her thoughts becoming less clear. He began to grow desperate as her thoughts faded, and the pain took over her body again. She lowered her head towards him and smiled. Her thoughts stopped.

* * *

**If anyone cried or started grieving, tell me, so I won't be alone XD. Nah, it's okay if you didn't, I understand. Andromeda passed out a lot in this chapter though, and Shane did an awesome book report on Miles To Go by Miley Cyrus. :D with a side of Lady Gaga!**

**So, this time, Edward really has returned. He has revealed himself to Andromeda. I won't talk about what happens to Andromeda, so that can wait until next chapter. It was actually very difficult for me to write the crash and all of that because...well, for a lot of reasons. Still, I hope I did a good job. Hopefully, I was able to move you guys, somewhat even, and I wrote a good emotional scene. **

**Thanks for all the reviews and just one more review until the 100th review! Whoohoo! Oh my gosh, 99 reviews, this is crazy and awesome!**

**I hope you enjoyed reading! Thanx for reading!**

**Plz Review!**

**-XxKissOfDeathxX**


	18. Wounded

**Chapter 18! I totally lied before if I said anything else was my biggest chapter. _This _is my longest chapter. Actually, it was so long, that I had to cut into two parts and each part would still be longer than my previous longest chapter.**

**Now, since I know reading can get exhausting, I suggest you read half then take a break, have a snack, maybe not even continue reading until you're up for it again. It's Long, with a capital L. XD I still hope you enjoy it though! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

The paramedics arrived twenty minutes later. The young man seemed to be passed out drunk on the floor, and the fire from Andromeda's car had finally reached the gas tank and there was a small explosion. Edward made sure Andromeda was a safe distance away, and he stayed with her until the ambulance arrived.

They gently lifted her a bit to get her on the stretcher and set her inside the ambulance with caution. There were several police officers there as well, along with the fire department. The firefighters worked on the car while the police handled the young man on the floor. They made him take a breath test along with two other physical tests to determine the level of intoxication.

They questioned Edward a bit, who gave them her home phone number along with her cellphone number. He didn't know the number to contact her parent's private phones, so he couldn't give that information. They were taking her to the hospital in Port Angeles, since it was the most nearby and she needed immediate treatment. "Hey, do you need a ride?" one of the cops asked, while his partner put the drunken man in cuffs in the back of the car.

"I'll be fine," Edward replied; looking at the ambulance as the paramedics inside began first response care.

Another one of the paramedics came towards him to ask him something else. "What's your relationship to this girl?" he asked.

Edward knew that they needed to know if he was a family member or family friend. He glanced at Andromeda and looked down, "I'm her boyfriend."

That seemed to make sense to the paramedic. Edward was seventeen years old, and the girl was eighteen. He knew her private number and her home phone number, so they couldn't be strangers. The paramedic figured it was a close friend, boyfriend, or brother. Brother made the least sense though, since he didn't know the parent's cellphone numbers. He thanked Edward and went back to the ambulance, and they started taking off towards the hospital.

Questions about car insurance would be asked later, since it was too sensitive of a moment to think about money. Edward stayed behind, looking at the ambulance as it sped towards the emergency room. He would stay nearby, and make sure that nothing happened. He wasn't going to slip again; he wouldn't let anything else hurt Andromeda. He would be there before it was too late. He looked towards the man arrested for driving under intoxication and noticed that he seemed to be slightly more sober.

Edward walked over to the police car and tried to test his will again. "How old are you?" he asked while some of the cops were with the firemen and others were talking amongst themselves around the area.

The man shook his head, and thought about the question for a moment. "Nineteen," he finally replied, coming out a slur. He was just a boy, which only made Edward angrier. He wouldn't kill him though, but he only restrained himself because of Andromeda. The man seemed to be somewhat confused over what happened and only focused on the little cuts he received during the crash. "Am I in trouble?"

Edward's eyes narrowed and he nodded, "I hope so." The boy didn't bother responding to him and he wondered where he went wrong. Edward didn't bother telling him that he aligned his headlights with Andromeda's headlights, and not her taillights. He left, his will not to finish breaking his neck becoming weaker. Before any of the cops could stop him, he left towards the forest, and started running.

Thomas was still waiting for anything. Any sounds of a car that might let him know that Andromeda was nearby. He checked the clock and saw it was almost half past two in the morning. Cat was sleeping in her mother's arms while her mother waited frantically, crying over her missing daughter. Andromeda had promised to be back by eight, and she was no where to be found.

The phone rang and quicker than possible, Thomas picked up, hoping it was Andromeda who had gone to one of her friends houses which was nearer to Port Angeles. It wasn't though, it was a hospital nurse telling them that their daughter was currently in the E.R after an encounter with a drunk driver. "We need to go," Thomas said, after hanging up.

"What happened? Who was that?" Eliza asked desperately.

"Annie was in a crash, that was the hospital calling."

Her mother put her hands over her mouth, not wanting to believe what she just heard. Her daughter wasn't a reckless driver; there was no reason for her to be in a crash. There was no reason for her to be in the hospital. Slowly, realization set in, and Eliza screamed. Her daughter might be dead, her child was dying. Thomas led his wife to the car and let her cry as he tried to hurry to the hospital in Port Angeles. It was an hour and a half drive though.

"Check her breathing," she heard someone say. The first thing she saw was a bright light and blurry images of people around her. She didn't know who they were. She wondered what they were doing. "She's awake!" one of them called out towards the other. They started talking to her, telling her to try to move something, asking her if she could still feel anything. She nodded, but couldn't tell them that she still felt the pain on her body, especially the sharp pain around her chest and shoulders.

They seemed to be checking the side of her head often, and asked her if she could tell them something about her life. Something that happened the day before. They seemed concerned with brain activity, and by the size of her wound, brain injuries seemed likely. There was something about concussion, and she passed out again.

Her parents entered the ER, with her mother demanding to see her daughter. Several nurses and her husband worked at calming her down and making sure was relaxed. It was a sleepy hospital, but there was still sick there who didn't need to be frightened. She finally sat down and just waited until somebody told her what was happening. There was nothing she could do but wait.

One nurse stayed with her, feeling sympathetic. "Don't worry, Ma'am. I'm sure they're doing everything they can," the nurse said, letting the mother cry. Her father stood at the corner of the waiting room with his youngest, which was eating some gummy bears. Her mother sobbed after thirty minutes of waiting and thanked the nurse for staying with her.

Finally, another nurse came out and introduced herself to the family. She told the parents that she did work with the doctor who was currently treating their daughters and advised them both to sit down. They did, fearing the worst. "You're daughter, Andromeda Gates, as we have here," she said and looked at them for verification, which they nodded to. "I'm sorry to inform you that you're daughter was in a head-on collision with someone driving under intoxication. She suffered three broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and around three cuts to her face with numerous more on her arms and chest. As well as a severe head trauma, which she is now currently undergoing an MRI scan to check for any possible brain injuries, or internal bleeding."

That was the harder part, and her parents were handling it well. She allowed the mother to cry for a moment before continuing. "I can assure you that we are doing everything we can to help your daughter. The good news is that she is not suffering from any spinal injuries and seems to have a pretty good control over her motor skills. Her legs suffered minimal damage, only having one cut and a first degree burn. If the MRI comes out with no brain damage or any type of internal injury, then I can almost assure you you're daughter will live."

The nurse was cautious with her choice of words, but she felt she had explained things well enough. She left the other nurse to try to help them cope while she checked on their daughter again. Eliza was silently crying while Cat was trying to give her mommy some gummy bears so she could get happy again. Eliza only picked Cat up and hugged her tightly, holding on to the only child she felt she had left.

Suddenly, two more families came in. Crystal, Shane and their parents went over to the Gates family and explained that they saw their car and wondered if something went wrong with Andromeda so they followed. Thomas was the one who had to explain what had happened, and Mr. and Mrs. Palatto gasped and Ms. White went on trying to console Mrs. Gates.

Shane and Crystal just stared at the floor and Crystal clenched her chest. "We should've taken her with us," Crystal choked, being pulled into a hug by Shane. He let her cry on his shoulder and tried to hold back his own tears. He couldn't believe it. She was with them just yesterday; she was fine just hours ago. Ms. White let her daughter call her boyfriend to tell him that she couldn't go on their date that day.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie," Ms. White said, holding her daughter. Mr. Palatto put his arm over his son and asked him if he was okay. Shane was crying, but he insisted that he was fine. Mrs. Palatto made sure that it was fine for him to cry, he didn't need to be strong for anybody. "I don't understand how this could happen," Mrs. Palatto said and Mr. Gates shook his head.

"None of us do," he said; his heart heavy. He took Cat and went to the car. His daughter needed to sleep and he didn't want her sleep inside the hospital. They kept waiting for Andromeda to just walk out of those doors announcing she was fine, but only nurses came in and out.

Mrs. Gates had finally managed to stop crying and traded watching over Cat with her husband. Cat was the only thing that made her feel somewhat better, but she still wanted her other daughter to be safe with her as well. It was a terrible feeling. Feeling as if you just lost your child, it was a wound that would never heal. All she wanted was to see Andromeda again, to know that her baby was still alive.

She silently began crying again. She didn't care how much sympathy was shown towards her, it was all fake sympathy. The nurses could've seen it happen a hundred times, but they would never know the true pain that a mother and father feel when they told them they're child might be dying. She hated whatever man had been drinking and driving that caused Andromeda to be in her current condition. He took her baby away from her.

It was already five in the morning, and they had heard nothing. He tried to convince the other two families to get their rest and leave, but they refused. He sat down for a moment, looking at the door then back at the floor. It killed him not to hear how his daughter was doing. He let himself cry for a moment, fear and grief that his little girl might be gone overtaking him. It felt like it was only yesterday that she had first learned to walk, or first told him she loved him, or got her braces, or came back talking about her first kiss. He remembered her first heartbreak, her first time driving, the first time she went out shopping for a bra with her mother, her first menstrual cycle…so many firsts.

His crying got a bit louder and he left the hospital to sit on the steps. No mother or father should ever have the experience of waiting to hear if they're child is dead or alive. It was too much to bear, it broke one so easily. He loved his daughter so much, and now all he wanted to do was make sure she was safe in her daddy's arms. He didn't want to let her go; he wasn't ready to let her go. He wasn't ready to bury his own baby.

Eliza noticed him sitting there and walked over while keeping a close eye on Catherine. She sat beside him and let him hold her while she cried. No parent should ever outlive their children. Her mother looked back at the car their youngest was sleeping in and clenched her chest. "Do you remember when we first took Annie to Disney? She wanted to see Mickey Mouse so badly, she ran up to stage and started trying to dance for him."

Thomas chuckled and wiped away a tear, "Yeah, she made us spin on those teapots all day. By the time we got back to the summer house, I really hated Alice in Wonderland."

"That Cat in the Hat ride in Island of Adventure was worse; I didn't want to take her back because she just wanted to be in it all day." She covered her mouth and sobbed, feeling a sharp piercing through her heart. "I wish I could take her back now." She cried freely, begging God that He wouldn't take away their daughter. "I can't lose her! I can't!"

A nurse came out of the door and looked around, "Is there a Mr. and Mrs. Gates in here?" she asked and Ms. White directed her to them. The nurse didn't seem to mind going outside for the couple, and actually preferred them to stay where they feel most comfortable. She went outside and allowed them time to recompose themselves enough so they could listen to what she had to say. The nurse smiled and handed them a stack of papers, "I am very happy to inform you that, amazingly enough, your daughter is not suffering from any serious brain damage. She only has a concussion, which will not threaten her life and will heal in a couple of weeks with rest. We gave her some stitches on her head and left arm, and the rest can be healed with just bandages."

The news overjoyed them to a point where they couldn't believe it. "You mean she's okay?" her mother asked, beginning to smile.

"Well, she's still seriously hurt, but she's going to be okay. If you want, you can go visit her now. Also, we're aware that you live in Forks so the doctor thinks it's a good idea if she's taken care of somewhere near home."

"Thank God," Mr. Gates said, relief washing over him. The nurse led Mrs. Gates to the room where Annie was staying while Thomas stayed with Cat and said that her friends could visit after they were done. Mrs. Gates walked in and hurried to her daughter, who was currently asleep. There was a bandage around her head and the nurse explained that they had to cut some of her hair to stitch up the wound, but it shouldn't be noticeable. There were bandages on her, and a male nurse worked on cleaning some of her cuts and applying new bandages.

The doctor came in, smiling at the mother and looked at Andromeda. "You must be Mrs. Gates," he said and held out his hand. "I'm Dr. Wright, I took care your daughter when she got here."

"Thank you," her mother said, taking his hand. Her mother looked at her and pulled back her bangs, which only ended up falling in her face again. "She's loves to dance; will she be able to continue?"

He nodded, "She'll be able to go back to school in a month or so, but I'd advise you to stay away from dance until she's completely regained her strength. Don't worry though, she can still dance, her legs and arms are good. She was very fortunate."

"She was," her mother agreed somewhat. She wanted her to be more fortunate and not have gotten into the crash in the first place, but knowing that she was okay was enough. She kissed Andromeda's forehead and the doctor bid her farewell. She was going to have to stay in the hospital for some time so the doctor advised her to transfer her to one near their home, to make things more comfortable.

She agreed to it and followed the nurse to pay for the services provided. Thomas went in and saw his daughter after Ms. White volunteered to watch over Cat. He stayed with her for some time until his wife returned to the room. "She's all bandaged up," he commented, looking at her cuts. Mrs. Gates only nodded and walked over to them. She sighed and shook her head, smiling.

They let Shane and Crystal see her as well and Shane began explaining to Crystal that Andromeda's bandages were a fashion statement. Crystal laughed and they both hugged her. She was still asleep though, so she didn't feel it very much. They wondered how Andromeda was taken to the hospital so late at night in a deserted road, but pushed the thought aside, just glad she was safe.

Edward sat outside the hospital near Andromeda's room. He hadn't left her all night, and was relieved to see she was dreaming again. Her dream was different though than usual. They were together, sitting on top of some type of grassy hill while she played with a puppy. The only thing he found different about it was the puppy. He hadn't seen Andromeda dream of animals before, but she kept dreaming of this puppy.

He stood up at the sound of them moving around and eventually leaving her asleep in the room. There weren't any ambulances coming through or leaving at that time, so he took the back entrance in. He made sure he kept his composure to not stir suspicion and even asked a nurse where Andromeda's room was. The nurse figured it was probably another one of her friends and led him there.

He walked up to her, but didn't dare touch her. The temperature of his skin could wake her up, and he wanted her to rest. He did, however, kiss her lips gently, enough to make her shiver but not to wake up. Despite her cuts, her bandages or her stitches, she was still breathtaking to him. He felt her shiver again and tried warming her with the covers, but it barely helped. It took some time before heat would transfer to him and make his skin warm as well, time he honestly didn't have. He soon heard a thought approaching, and he ground his teeth as unjust hatred and jealousy began making their way in.

Peter had arrived and was asking Andromeda's parents about her. They said she would be fine, and for now she was just asleep. He seemed worried, which made her parents glad to know that their daughter found someone who really cared about her. Ms. White came in holding Cat in her arms. Cat seemed to have enough energy to run around again and ran towards her father.

"Bad timing, they're like transferring her in a moment," Crystal said, looking towards the doors.

Peter shrugged, "I'm still seeing her."

Mrs. Gates looked at the boy for a moment and wondered why he was there alone. "Peter, where are your parents?"

"Hm? Oh, I didn't want to wake them up so early. I woke up my brother though, but he didn't come along. Where's Annie?"

Mrs. Gates gave him directions and he went off to see her. Mr. Palatto couldn't help but shake his head and look down at his own son, "You didn't seem to care about waking us up," he said towards Shane. Shane smiled and shrugged, knowing his parents really didn't care about that. They were awake most of their time anyway.

Peter finally got to Andromeda's room with some extra direction from a nurse and walked towards her. He looked at her and his heart began to ache wondering how much pain she must've gone through. He gently placed his lips against hers and after a second felt her kissing back. He separated, wondering if she was awake. She barely opened her eyes and smiled at him.

She knew it was Peter; his kisses were warm and soft. "Hey," she whispered, sounding hoarse. Peter smiled and kissed her again, glad that he was the one that was with her when she woke up. She slightly smiled and chuckled. "I must look so ugly right now." She could only imagine her messy hair and un-plucked eyebrows. She slightly squinted, trying to see Peter better, but the farther away he was, the more he blurred.

Peter only chuckled and shook his head, "You always look beautiful to me." She held his hand tighter and he sighed. "I heard scars were in anyway. Check out Scarface, he worked it well." Andromeda laughed but had to stop since it caused her too much pain. She only shook her head and smiled.

"Asshole," she said, and pulled him into another kiss. Something on the back of her mind kept bothering her though. She remembered something cold touching her lips, Edward kissing her in her dreams. For a moment, she wondered if she really had seen Edward the night before, or if was just her imagination and it was someone else who called the paramedics. No, it had to be him, she remembered. She remembered telling him she loved him, and him kissing her.

Peter left so they could start transferring her to the hospital back at Forks. Edward watched from afar, hearing Andromeda's thoughts when she woke up. He regretted not being the one to be there with her when she woke up. He didn't care if he had to face Peter again, he wanted to see her awake again. She thought of him though, and he wondered if she took back her words when she told him she loved him. The only thing he was certain about was that he didn't, and he never would.

They left for Forks and everyone followed. The only one with energy seemed to be Catherine, who couldn't seem to understand what the words relax meant when he father told her to do so. She started fussing about being in the front with her mother, but her mother refused to let her sit with her. She wasn't risking another child in case they got into a crash. Catherine sat back and started playing with whatever she could find, trying to entertain herself.

They reached the hospital at Forks and Andromeda was finally admitted. They would handle bills and the car later on. Everyone seemed to be waiting for her in the waiting room and Jessica was the first to visit her. They had heard it from each one had heard it from somewhere different. Some from Ryan, other's from Crystal, some from Peter that Andromeda was in a crash and was coming back. Jessica was afraid of how she might see Andromeda, but she decided she had to see her old friend.

She did so and managed to even talk to her a bit. They spoke for a while about things, especially Mike. Jessica seemed excited that Mike was finally taking an interest in her, and Andromeda didn't have the heart to tell her that he was still head over heels for Bella. Jessica did something unexpected then: she hugged Andromeda. "I hope you feel better, Annie," she said, separating from her. "If you don't mind, I can visit you every once in a while."

Andromeda smiled and shook her head, "I don't mind." Jessica smiled and left, glad to know that she was fine. Andromeda knew that Bella didn't like Jessica very much, and the feeling was returned by Jessica. She was sure though, that if Bella actually got to know Jessica she would find that Jessica wasn't as mean as she thought. Of course, she and Andromeda were barely friends anymore, their friendship already having disintegrated a few years ago.

Lauren visited, as well as Angela. One by one, or sometimes in twos, the students from her high school visited her. She was honestly flattered about how much they cared to know how she was doing, and she couldn't deny that she was enjoying the attention a bit. It was hard for her not to though, since she had always been just another person in her high school, and now she was the talk of the school…in a good way…kind of. Well, she once was the talk of the school when people were calling her a whore and accusing her on having cheated with Edward, but she preferred to forget about that.

It was midday and the teens left to go out to eat with their friends or family. Lauren even had a lunch date with Tyler. Peter stayed and had hospital food with her mother while her father went out to get Cat something to eat. Peter's parents came in as well, along with his brother, who was four years younger, and tried to get their son to come out to eat with them. Peter refused though, wanting to stay near Andromeda. Andromeda though, urged him to go. She didn't want him to stay stuck in the hospital because of her. "Please," she said, and he finally agreed to it.

Shane and Crystal returned with some food from a nearby fast-food and ate with her in the room. Crystal also ate Andromeda's ice cream, jello, and her garlic bread while Andromeda ate some steamed vegetables. Shane only rolled his eyes at the big eater and went on to tell anyone who would listen about Justin Bieber getting hit by a water bottle. Her mother was more concerned that Justin Bieber wasn't hurt by his fan, but Shane was only laughing at it. Crystal started plotting to throw a brick at him if she sees him in concert. That ought to catch reporters' attention.

They eventually left to go sleep in their own homes and Eliza went to the store to shop for some groceries. She gave Andromeda her cellphone back and told her to call as soon as she felt any better or worse. She knew Andromeda didn't like disturbing people during eating periods, but her mother made her promise that she would call a nurse if she felt worse regardless of the time. Andromeda sighed as her mother almost created a list of things she should do and even eat.

She finally left and Andromeda looked at the ceiling. She couldn't move, maybe her arms a bit but they hurt too much. She looked at the stitches in her arms and started counting them. She thought about Edward, she hadn't seen him since the night before. She felt as if something jabbed her through her chest when she realized that he had left her again. She didn't want him. She felt better without him anyway, and he did nothing more than hurt her…but she loved him.

"I'm not leaving," she heard someone say. It was his voice. She looked up and saw Edward standing by the door, leaning against the frame. He walked to her side and gently cupped her face. He held her hand for a moment before kissing it. "I love you, my Annie." He pressed his lips against hers and she couldn't help but pull him closer. After all those months, he was finally with Andromeda, with his girl. He couldn't help think of Bella though, and immediately his body went into a state of pain he couldn't describe. He could only deepen his kiss with Andromeda.

She felt him tense and knew Bella was on his mind. She shook her head and tried separating from him, but he only took her lips again. "Stop," she mumbled. It was returning, that horrible demon that had lived with her for so long. He wasn't supposed to be with her first, he was supposed to be with Bella. It wasn't her he should be returning to, it was the one he had caused so much misery by leaving. Guilt made its way back into Andromeda's heart and mind, and she refused to let it stay there. "Stop!" she whispered harshly, and Edward complied.

She felt a new wave of pain pass through her body. She loved Peter; she promised she would be faithful to him. She didn't want to cheat on him anymore. She wanted him to trust her completely again, and she knew that she could barely trust herself. She was done hurting him; she just couldn't do it anymore. She thought of Bella, who had gone through so much suffering since Edward left that it was unfair that he returned to her first. "Go away," she said, her heart weak.

He shook his head and lifted her chin to face him. "I love you," he said and she wanted to slap his hand away.

"Stop saying that!" She looked down and Edward saw tears starting to form at the edge of her eyes. Part of her wanted to be completely selfish, and just forget about Bella, forget that she existed in his life. The other part though, knew that she couldn't escape the reality that Edward belonged with Bella…not her. Then all of her agreed that she didn't want to hurt Peter, but that was impossible as long as she still loved Edward.

Edward wiped away her tear with the pad of thumb and kissed her forehead. "Just stop thinking," he whispered and moved down to kiss the side of her eye, not allowing the tear to spill. He dragged his lips down to her jaw-line and lower to her neck. It hurt to do so, but she allowed him to kiss her neck and jaw. He went back up to her lips and placed his own against hers.

She stopped thinking so much for once, and just gave in to him. She found her teacher's words to suddenly be ringing true in her head. Men, and women, in their most natural state, really were evil creatures out to only please themselves. One thing he forgot to mention, however, is that no matter what state they're in, they will always have conflicts. It was his choice to deepen the kiss, and it was hers to let him. It didn't matter though, that she let him, because tears still fell.

He heard her mother's thoughts approaching and separated from her. "I'll remain nearby…unless you want me to leave," he said and gave her a smaller kiss. She only shook her head, unsure of what she wanted. He had to leave, but she didn't want him to. She knew though that he should. If he was ever to return, it should be to Bella. He made her look at him and she closed her eyes. "I'm asking _you_."

She shook her head again and looked down, "You can read my mind, can't you? Just pick one."

"No…I want you to choose."

"Why are you making this harder than it has to be?"

"Just tell me…just tell me what you would say if I didn't know what you were thinking?"

That didn't help her at all. She only chuckled dryly and looked at him. She struggled with doing so, but caressed his face with her finger and shook her head. "Don't go," she decided. She was too weak, she couldn't let him go. She grew convinced that her weak heart was created to be laughed at.

"I won't," he said and kissed her hand before leaving her room. He walked quickly away from the room, lest her mother catch him walking in the hall. He knew that her parents disliked him…no, more like couldn't stand him near their daughter. It was understandable though, and he couldn't hold anything against them for worrying about Andromeda.

Eliza walked in holding a bag and a plate in her hands. Andromeda smiled and figured her mother must've cooked for her despite the hospital having some food. She only hoped it was something low fat and preferably sugar free. She set the bag down and picked up the small table for Andromeda. "You're eating this whether you like it or not," her mother said and revealed the food. It was soup. Andromeda really didn't like soup.

"Can I have stir fry with a side of steamed vegetables instead?" Andromeda asked. Her mother shook her head and pointed at the soup with some chunks of chicken in it. Eliza was bent on feeding Andromeda enough proteins for the day, and then she would make her what she wanted. Andromeda wondered why she couldn't turkey instead…she liked turkey. She also liked the baked chicken breast with some plain mash potatoes and green beans. Maybe she was hungry.

She tried feeding herself, but she winced as some of the cuts seemed to open up at her bending her arm. Her mother noticed this and noticed that Andromeda's face was tear-stained. "Annie? Does it hurt? Were you crying?" she began asking and Andromeda only shook her head at all the questions. She tried getting the food to her mouth again, but the cuts caused too much of an ache. Mrs. Gates took over and began feeding her daughter.

Andromeda felt like a baby again. Her mother was feeding her, deciding what she ate at all times, bringing her what clothes she was going to wear, and even how many bottles of water she wanted her to drink a day. Andromeda knew that she only did so because she cared, but couldn't she at least have brought a brush with her? Still, Andromeda ate the soup that was given to her and eventually got full. "Thanks, mom," she said as her mother took away the plate and put a bottle of water next to her.

Peter eventually came back and tried feeding Andromeda her water, but she only pushed him away with her legs. He laughed and tried again, this time using a calming baby voice for her. She laughed at him and kicked him once again until he was forced to give up the bottle to her mother. Darkness fell and Peter left, promising he would return tomorrow. Andromeda's mother would stay with her, and Andromeda would look out a window, wondering if Edward had kept his promise and stayed nearby. She missed him, but if he was gone, she refused to cry.

Even when days passed, Peter, Shane and Crystal never failed to visit her every day. Her mother and father would take turns on watching over Andromeda and sometimes bring Cat along to play with her when Andromeda had enough strength.

She had spent her entire spring break in the hospital, and two days after school had started once again, she was allowed to go back to her house, but not yet to school. Not that she minded or anything, she wasn't in a hurry to return to school. After all, she couldn't even enjoy her spring break.

She found she could walk around just fine, and picking things up didn't hurt very much. On her first night back at her house, her mother even let her feed herself, much to her relief. Cat couldn't help but touch the stitches on her arm, but cried when she saw the stitches on her head. Andromeda put on a hat when she was around her, to prevent her from pulling her hair back to see the stitches, which would only make her cry.

Andromeda, with nothing to do but rest, read My Sister's Keeper and began doing her synthesis essay. She took breaks most of the time and just listened to music or played around in the computer. It was technically cheating, but not if Mr. Banner didn't know about it, so she went to sparknotes and read the summary of the book and called it day. She decided to refute the argument presented, since it was the choice with the most evidence and she needed to get a good grade.

She didn't want to think about it, but she hadn't seen Edward in weeks. Maybe he had returned to Bella and was spending some time with her. Andromeda ignored the slight jealous feeling inside of her and was glad that Edward decided to spend time with Bella. She wondered if they were fighting, since Edward had hurt her. Knowing Bella though, even a little bit, she knew that Bella would make the same stupid decision she made and forgive him.

She finished writing her synthesis essay and looked out her window. It was raining, it had been raining a lot lately, but she was already used to it. She noticed a figure sitting outside her window and walked towards it. 'You can come in…it's raining,' she thought, knowing Edward was the one sitting outside. Edward nodded but didn't make an effort to move from his spot, letting the rain soak him.

He wanted to visit Bella, he had missed her for so long, but he couldn't. He was already convinced that Bella was safer without him around. She was just another normal girl without him to pose as a threat to her. He was wrong to even visit Andromeda. Sure, he didn't thirst for her blood, but he did hurt her regardless. There was some noise from the window and he saw Andromeda struggle to open the thing. He opened it for her, not wanting her to use too much strength.

He looked at her for a moment and finally stepped in. She was worried about him, being outside in the rain. For a moment, it made him wonder if she forgot what he was. She went to her closet and pulled out a towel for him. She was trying not to think, but he knew she was trying to justify letting him in. It was raining; after all, she couldn't just leave him outside.

She handed him the towel and looked at him with concerned and guilt ridden eyes. "Are you cold?" she asked, sitting on the edge of her bed.

He only chuckled and half-smiled at her, "I always am." He looked at her for a moment, and knew she didn't deserve someone as awful as him. He wasn't a good man, yet she loved him anyway. He was constantly betraying people he cared about, but she would still love him.

She smiled and looked down, slightly blushing for forgetting so easily. She looked back at her synthesis paper and considered letting Edward read it over. He did always get the highest score in every single class, and he's probably had to write synthesis essays more times than he could count. "Do you mind…?" she said, holding the paper.

He smirked and walked over to her. He took the paper and read it over, checking her spelling and grammar as he read. It actually wasn't very good, but not very bad either. She had very little grammatical errors, especially for someone who wasn't a big reader or paid much attention in class, and her spelling was fine. He did have one suggestion though. "Put more of your opinion into it. If you disagree with eugenics, say why you hold that opinion instead of generalizing what you think other people think about it. Synthesis essays are mostly the writer's opinions and beliefs, with solid evidence to back them up."

He helped her rewrite some parts of the essay and she wondered if that would be cheating. "What do you think about eugenics?" she asked him. He seemed to know a lot about the subject, so she wondered if it was because he had strong feelings towards it. He only shrugged though, and pointed out another sentence that could be fixed. It was disappointing, but if he didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't press him.

"I disagree with it," he finally said. She looked back at him, and noticed how distant he looked. He scoffed and shook his head, "Enough people have suffered from man trying to perfect how to manipulate life…millions did. So no, I don't agree with engineering any type of life…" He seemed to be struggling with his words and Andromeda wondered why he felt that way.

He picked up a textbook from her bag and opened it to a certain page. She then understood. "Human experimentation with eugenics isn't a new idea…in fact, there were people wanting to create perfect human beings for some time in history. These were the first to take the extra step," he said. Andromeda stared at the World War II page and closed the book, refusing to look at the symbol that was used during that period.

She remembered that he lived through that period. He was alive when all of those things happened, and she realized that they have never stopped affecting him somewhat. He took the book away and went back to helping her with the essay. They finished and Andromeda rewrote it on her computer. She looked at Edward's handwriting for a few moments and began to giggle.

"What?" he asked, looking at his writing himself.

"You write like an old man," Andromeda replied, smiling at his script.

Edward chuckled, "You always have the best compliments in mind, don't you?"

She turned towards him and nodded. It felt strange being close to him for some reason, and she found herself being drawn to his lips. Edward was surprised that she kissed him, but kissed her back nevertheless. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she thought of Peter for a split second. Maybe he was trying to hold on to her, to keep her from leaving him all of a sudden. She wouldn't leave him though, she never could.

Andromeda heard someone heading towards her room and separated from him. "Someone's coming," she said and pushed him away. She noticed her shirt was completely wet and her carpet was also getting soaked. She saw Edward start stepping out but stopped him. "It's still raining…" she reminded him. It was a futile attempt to make him stay longer with her, but it worked all the same.

"It's your mother," he said, looking towards the door. She considered letting him hide in the bathroom, but that it was very messy and embarrassing. She then considered the closet, but she didn't want him to get curious and start rummaging through her old boxes. "I choose the closet," he said, curious to know what were in the boxes she was thinking about. Before she could object, he was already hiding and her mother was knocking on the door.

She answered it and found that her mother only wanted to tell her that her ballet instructor was on the line and to pick up the phone. Eliza looked around the room and noticed the window was slightly open. She wasn't sure, but suspicion was certainly growing. Andromeda went to pick up the phone and Eliza closed the door, still wondering if what she thought was true. Andromeda spoke with her instructor for only a moment about ballet, but then Ms. Patel started asking her how she felt.

Edward was already looking through a big pink box by the time she hung up the phone and one by one he took out several wedding decorations. "Those are from when my aunt got married," Andromeda explained. He seemed to be looking at a picture for some time. She looked over his shoulders and saw it was a picture of her in a flower girl dress next to her aunt, the bride. She took the picture away and put the box back in its place. "It was a long time ago. She's divorced now."

Andromeda remembered that her shirt was still wet and got a shirt to change into. She looked back at Edward, who was still wet and walked over to him. "I don't mind," he said, already answering her question. She pushed some of his wet locks to the side and shook her head.

"I do," she replied. "You can let your shirt dry, at least, while I go change."

He pulled her towards him and kissed her forehead, "Alright."

She went in to change her shirt and saw him removing his from the corner of her eye. She wasn't one to stare, so she quickly entered the bathroom to avoid him. She had seen Peter without a shirt many times; actually, she sees a lot of guys with their shirts off whenever she goes to the beach, or she goes to a public pool. It shouldn't be a big deal; it was just another guy with his shirt off. She changed and went back into her room.

Edward had a white undershirt on, which relieved her a bit for some reason. "How do feel?" he asked, looking at her. She sat on her bed in front of him and felt bad that he was sitting on the floor. She couldn't help but sit on the floor with him. He pulled her into an embrace and she shivered against his cold, wet undershirt.

"Good enough…I'm honestly hoping I get a good grade on that essay," she replied, hoping she got at least an eighty. She shifted away from the cold and saw her new shirt was wet again. She sighed and decided to leave it as it was.

He chuckled and shook his head, "You might get sick." He took off his undershirt, which made her hitch her breath, and placed his hands against her waist. Unknowingly, she wrapped her arms around his neck and felt him kissing the back of her ear. He slid his hands up and removed her shirt as well, leaving her wearing a bra. He kissed down to her jaw-line and soon her lips. It was uncomfortable, kissing him wearing only so little. She ran her hand down his chest and rested it against his stomach, feeling him pulling her closer against him.

He left her lips to kiss the curve of her neck and lower to her collarbone. He felt her grow warmer, which helped heat up his own cold skin and pressed her against him. She was beginning to feel strange, and he knew she was getting uncomfortable. "Let's stop this," she said and pushed on his shoulders. He felt her skin grow warmer and decided it would be a good idea for them to stop. If it got too far, he feared what he would do to her, and the warmer she was, the farther it drove him.

He let her go and she walked to put on a different shirt. She knew the feeling in her stomach from only one previous experience: Peter. It reminded her of when Peter and she were about to…she wondered if she would do the same with Edward, but shook the thought away. Edward winced at her thought and was glad she dropped it. The last thing he wanted to see was Peter's hands tracing her body, and other things he didn't want to think about.

Edward felt betrayal whenever she thought of Peter like that. It was unreasonable of him, since he knew that it was Peter who ultimately had Andromeda, not him. He couldn't have it both ways, he couldn't expect Andromeda to be only his and make her share himself with Bella; it wouldn't be fair. He stood up and held her from behind, placing a small kiss on her ear.

Andromeda looked at her window and saw it was still raining. "You should get your rest," he said and let her go. "I'll be leaving." He opened the window but Andromeda stopped him. He only chuckled and smiled towards her, "I'm a big kid now; I can handle a little bit of water."

Andromeda smiled and soon laughed, "Okay…be careful," she said and he left. She walked back to her bed and figured it would be a good idea to get some rest. She had trouble falling asleep though. There was something bothering, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She sat up on her bed and scanned her room. She then noticed that Edward left his shirt and undershirt in her room, which made her nervous. She got up and threw them in her bathroom, hiding them. There was no point in keeping them, so she would have to either throw it away and return it to him, whichever was quickest. She finally got back to her bed and was able to sleep.

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**You'll probably see the next chapter in a few minutes . But anyway, welcome back! On the hospital parts, well, I'm in the medical profession and I can honestly tell you, I don't think it works that way XP But for fiction's sake, anything goes. **

**Whoa, considering the length of these babies, I did good time XD **

**Well, I hope you liked it! Thanks 4 reading!**

**Plz Review!**

**XxKissOfDeathxX**


	19. Grassy Hills

**As I said, chapter 19! Woohoo! I'm so tired XD**

**Well, just so you know. I use a lot of expressions when I'm writing something and I thought I might share some. I'm like this when I'm writing after I've recieved a hate message: -.- (this stinks) and then I write like this normall: O.O (more drama! XD) So basically...I don't know XD Well, I hope you enjoy even if you hate it and are doing it for the lulz! :D **

**Disclaimer: Nope...twilight does not belong to me. If it did, I'd make Charlie a badass cop in the fifties hot on the trail for recent vampire murders XD But that's just me.**

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The next morning, she was finally allowed to go back to school. She managed to get ready on her own and packed up her things, which were thrown around her room. She wasn't sure whether to be excited or not. After all, the thought of turning in her essay still unnerved her. On top of that, she didn't want to attract a lot of attention with the three cuts on her face. Sure, they were almost gone, but the faint outline could still be somewhat seen.

She headed downstairs anyway, and ate a small bowl of whole grain cereal. It had too much carbs, so only ate half of it. She took some blackberries and a celery stick with her and went off to school. Her mother was trusting that she knew what was good for her, and didn't ask any questions. She only hoped that her daughter would be more careful now that she was driving again.

They had allowed her to take her Ferrari again since she had totaled the Toyota, and now that was the only car left, other than their Honda, which her father needed. She drove to school slowly, since the last thing she wanted was to slide on the wet road. Once she got to the parking lot, her friends immediately greeted her and Jessica and Lauren smiled from afar.

"Oh my gosh, she walks! This is exciting!" Shane said and hugged Andromeda.

She laughed and turned, showing him she could walk very well. "I live!"

Crystal laughed as well and hugged her, "Don't joke about that! You scared me shitless! I thought I was going to go through the rest of my life without my best friend."

"I'm sorry."

They sat down on the steps of the school and talked until the bell rung. They each got to their first period class. The teacher asked her how she was doing and some of the other students talked to her as well. As the day passed, Andromeda noticed how extremely nice everyone was to her and wondered for how long it would go on. One boy even gave her some flowers since his mother heard that she would be in school that day and wanted to apologize for not being able to go the hospital.

When she finally reached her English class, she quickly turned in her new synthesis essay and went to sit down. She paid more attention to the flowers than she did that class, and imagined those were her first flowers given by a fan after performing onstage. The teacher called on her to interpret a stanza in a poem, interrupting her from her reverie. The students once again laughed at her futile attempt to find some deeper meaning in words.

The bell rung and Andromeda went to lunch. Peter walked her there, smiling as she received several glances. "Look who's popular," Peter said, chuckling. "You even got flowers."

Andromeda shrugged, "My mother told the world I was coming back to school today."

They sat together at lunch, with Ryan joining them that time as well. Crystal and Ryan seemed happy together, enough that she almost forgot there were others at the table. Peter cleared his throat, reminding the two drama kids that there were others with eyes watching them. Andromeda smiled and mouthed an apology. She didn't want them to stop just because it made others uncomfortable…it would be appreciated though.

Jessica went over to them and motioned Andromeda to follow her. Andromeda was skeptical at first, but Peter urged her to go ahead. She did so, still unsure if she should. Jessica seemed in a hurry and quickly walked into the girl's room, looking around. It made Andromeda curious to know what the big secret was. "Annie," she began, turning towards her, "I was thinking…maybe you could sit with us today."

Andromeda was pretty surprised; she expected more. "Sure, why didn't you just ask me at the table?"

Jessica shook her head and sighed, "I'm tired of people thinking I'm only after attention. If I had asked you over there, people would've overheard and assumed I was just trying to get popularity."

"I still don't understand why you chose to ask me here."

Jessica sighed again, "Hopefully, this will make them think I have girl problems to talk over with you…which I do but I don't want to talk about it."

This caught Andromeda's attention, but she didn't want to press Jessica for information. She only nodded and followed Jessica. Jessica also let her bring along Peter if she wanted, which she did since she knew he had never sat with the 'popular' kids. The guys talked to Peter about his baseball and tennis, along with how Peter manages to play two sports, have a girlfriend, work as a part-time mechanic, and get high grades. Andromeda only smiled at her overachieving boyfriend and rolled her eyes. Little did they know that he also plays the guitar and keyboard as well write song lyrics.

Mike seemed jealous of Peter, but shook it off. He tried talking to Bella, who only seemed distracted by something. Andromeda wondered if it was the whole Victoria vampire thing and the werewolves and just basically her life being like the movie Underworld. "Bella?" Andromeda asked and Bella turned towards her.

Andromeda honestly felt that Bella only acknowledged her now since she knew of Edward's and Jacob's secrets. She pushed it aside though, giving her the benefit of the doubt. "Never mind," Andromeda said, shaking her head. Bella never actually came to visit Andromeda, but that was probably because she was busy. She had a lot on her mind, so she understood.

The bell rung and Andromeda walked to her next class with Shane and Crystal. "What was up with Jessica asking you to sit with her?" Crystal asked, eating a cookie she had taken with her. Andromeda shrugged, and Shane sighed.

"Jessica, I'll never understand her," Shane mused, sighing heavily.

Crystal shrugged, "Actually, I heard Jessica's got some problems. My mom heard from Lauren's mom, whom Lauren told after being told by Jessica that she wasn't feeling well. Something about feeling heart broken and rejected."

"Do you think it's because of Mike?" Andromeda asked and Shane and Crystal couldn't answer. They each got to their classes and eventually reached their final class for the day. Andromeda was paired up with Bella, much to both her and Mike's dismay. Andromeda couldn't look at Bella anymore, not after her previous night. They played badminton silently, Bella keeping her racket low.

The small birdie went flying towards Bella, who panicked and quickly glanced at Andromeda, who could do nothing but tell her to try and hit it. Bella swung her racket and hit the birdie. The small object flew straight and hit the other person's face, while Bella's racket slipped from her fingers. She tripped over her own feet, trying to get the racket, and fell down. The racket hit Andromeda on one of her stitches, which caused Andromeda to yelp from the pain.

The racket fell to the floor as Andromeda held her now throbbing and slightly bleeding cut. The stitches were fine, but some blood seeped out of them and the impact of the racket caused it to throb. Andromeda tried to hold it in, but ended up crying as the pain spread through her entire arm. "I'm so sorry," she heard Bella say, and shook her head.

"It's okay…it's not so bad," Andromeda replied, stopping her tears. She forgave Bella, it was only fair. Bella may have not known it, but she deserved to hit Andromeda with a racket. Andromeda still couldn't look at Bella's face and instead, looked up to see if she could excuse herself to go sit down. Mike was ahead of her though, and he helped her walk over to a bench while the coaches called the nurse.

Mike looked over the cut with the stitches and figured that they didn't need to be removed or reapplied. Andromeda looked at him but felt uncomfortable. They both remembered that brief kiss they shared and looked away, both feeling guilty. Bella walked over to them, embarrassed that her clumsiness had caused her to hurt Andromeda. Mike left to go talk to the coaches about the nurses and trusted Bella with watching to see that the bleeding didn't get worse.

"It's actually stopped," Andromeda said, letting go of her arm. Bella nodded and looked away, unsure of what to say next. Andromeda wanted her to leave, and just ignore her like she used to. She knew how much she still cared about Edward, she knew that she had never gotten over him, she knew that he was back and he wasn't with her like he should be, and she wanted to tell her. "Do you still care about Edward?"

She didn't know why she was asking that, she was only opening up Bella's old wounds. Andromeda guessed it was because part of her had to know, had to know why she was so dedicated to him that she wouldn't consider the possibility of him returning to another girl, despite rumors saying he was. Bella only shook her head and bit her lip, "Yes."

"Why?" Andromeda knew she was cutting deeper, and decided that Bella didn't have to answer her question if she didn't want to. She understood what it felt like, to be reminded of something you wanted to forget. In Andromeda's case: Bella herself.

Bella sighed, "He's so impossibly beautiful…I have no idea why he would choose me. Everything about him is so perfect. He's was like a dark angel, protecting me. He craved my blood, but I know he won't hurt me, there's more to him than that. He's selfless."

Andromeda nodded, convinced that Bella was wrong. She was right about him being handsome, but he was far from selfless. "It sounds like he was a great boyfriend…he would never hurt you." He was, and hopefully Bella would understand what Andromeda was trying to tell her. She didn't though, and only agreed with Andromeda.

The nurse arrived and wrapped a bandage around her arm as well as checked her temperature, just in case. The bell rung and the students were dismissed from the school. Andromeda was the last to enter the locker rooms and change into her clothes. She saw Bella there though, seeming to wait for something. "Did they catch Victoria?" Andromeda asked and Bella looked at her in surprise.

"No, not yet," she said, sounding unnerved.

"I'm sorry." That was all Andromeda could say and she quickly left. She hurried to her car and sighed; glad she was away from Bella. She noticed Crystal was with Ryan and Shane was talking to Heath. It still surprised her that Heath was also gay, but she shook it off. She wondered how many people in her school were still in the closet, but the thought passed quickly.

She got to her house and had a small snack her mother and Cat had prepared. Cat really seemed to like cooking, and Andromeda could almost imagine her as a culinary master in the future. She started doing her homework, which wasn't much, just ten calculus questions, which she guessed on, and three passages to interpret, which she also guessed on.

The doorbell rang and soon she heard her mother calling her name. Andromeda went down and saw it was Jessica, who was there, and not Shane or Crystal as she expected. "Hey…you can come up," Andromeda said and Jessica nodded. Jessica went upstairs and towards Andromeda. She already knew the house pretty well, but it had been a long time since she was in it.

"Hey Annie, I just wanted to hang out today," she said, looking around anxiously.

Andromeda guessed it was normal. After all, she hasn't visited her like this in years. Andromeda invited her back to her room or the upstairs game room. Jessica preferred the room honestly and they headed back to Andromeda's bedroom. Jessica looked around and giggled. It was just like the last time she came, minus the Barbies.

She touched some of the discs aligned on her wall and turned towards Andromeda. "Did you finish you Calculus homework?" she asked and Andromeda nodded.

"So…what do you want to talk about?" Andromeda asked.

Jessica smiled and sighed. "You wanna know why I came here?" Andromeda wasn't sure how to respond, but she slightly nodded, thinking that's what Jessica wanted her to do. Jessica only looked down and sat on the edge of the bed. "You're one of the few people I know that are willing to hear me, you and Angela. Everyone else just finds me annoying or bitchy."

"I'm sorry," Andromeda replied, starting to feel sympathy for Jessica.

Jessica only scoffed and shook her head, smiling, "You apologize way too much." Andromeda shrugged and apologized again for apologizing too much. Jessica gave up, it was probably a lost cause. "You know, I have feelings too. Believe it or not, I do get hurt, and lately, it's been happening a lot."

Andromeda noticed her voice was starting to crack and sat down next to her. "What's wrong?" Andromeda couldn't imagine anything that would hurt Jessica enough to make her come to her. Jessica looked down and took a deep breath, and Andromeda saw pain in doing that.

"Mike's been ignoring me a lot lately; he's barely looked at me. He's not the same anymore, and I know he's trying to change for someone else…Bella. I know you probably think I'm stupid but I can't help it. High school isn't supposed to be a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but I can't help it because high school is my life right now, and I'm constantly being hurt by Mike. It's just…there so many things."

"I know…and I know there's more."

Jessica looked at Andromeda in surprise. Andromeda was willing to listen to her, the only who had listened to her before was Angela, but she was busy with Ben. Even though Jessica had been mean to Andromeda before, Andromeda still seemed willing to help her. She smiled, she guessed Andromeda really had buried the hatchet. "I'm alone." It was a simple statement, but one Andromeda understood. "I'm constantly alone. People think I'm such a bitch because I'm always trying to get attention. I admit it, I used Bella when she first arrived but it's not because she was a useful, but because I was hoping that if Bella became my friend, then I wouldn't be so alone all the time."

Andromeda shook her head, unable to understand. "But you have friends…a lot of them."

"Friends…friends who think I'm awful, who find my talking annoying, who think I'm a manipulative slut…those friends." Jessica finally let her tears go and tried covering her face. Andromeda only tried to console her, finally understanding how Jessica felt. "Even sluts like me have feelings too, and I do get hurt, it's not impossible. I know high school is just a small phase and maybe I'll make a friend in college, but…I still go to sleep wondering who would really miss me if I just disappeared one night."

Andromeda was finally able to understand what her words truly meant and fought back the urge gasp. "You can't think that," Andromeda finally said, after the initial shock passed. Jessica didn't seem to be listening though, and breathed out. She looked at Andromeda for a moment for chuckling and wiping her tears away.

"I need to…I don't know, just fix my face," Jessica said and Andromeda pointed her towards the bathroom. Jessica left for the bathroom and Andromeda wondered how long Jessica had kept those feelings to herself. It really must be lonely on top of the world, even if it's only high school. Andromeda waited a few minutes and suddenly Jessica came out, holding something in her hands. "Annie…what's this?"

Andromeda turned, wondering what she meant and her hands gripped the sheets when she saw what Jessica had found: Edward's shirts. Andromeda bit her lip and tried to answer her, but it was obvious. "It's…it belongs to my dad." That was the best she could do, but it was obvious Jessica wasn't buying it.

"This isn't your dad's size…and Peter doesn't wear buttoned long-sleeve shirts." Jessica saw Andromeda's face blanch and she realized who it was from. "Oh my God…you're seeing him. How long? I can't believe you would actually do this." Andromeda shook her head, trying to explain it to her, but the words didn't want to come out, especially since all of them wanted to admit it.

"A few weeks…he was here last night. It was raining and he got wet and took off his shirt. Nothing happened. Nothing serious has happened between us."

Jessica seemed dazed by this, unable to believe that Andromeda really had been cheating on Peter. "Why…Andromeda, why would you do this with him? I can't believe…you're cheating on Peter. Oh my goodness, Bella doesn't know either." Jessica was hesitant to ask the next question, but she pushed it out. "Have you…have you slept with him?"

"No! I swear I haven't. I don't know why I'm doing this, I just…I don't know." Andromeda held her chest, a sudden pain filling it. She didn't want her chest to hurt, but it always did when she thought about her actions. She was so confused, and she knew that she could answer Jessica's questions, she just preferred not to. It was too much to think about. "Please…please, don't tell anyone." She was begging, but she was also helpless.

Jessica looked at the shirt and smiled, "Why not? I mean, this could totally break up Bella and Edward for good! You can get back at her for everything! _We_ could get back at her! Everyone wins, you get Edward, we get revenge, and it's happily ever after. Annie, there's no losing."

Andromeda scoffed and shook her head, "There's no winning! You don't know Bella, and I don't either, but I know that she would never leave Edward whether he was cheating on her or not. Edward wouldn't lose Bella, but I would lose Peter! You probably won't believe me but I love Peter. I do love him and I don't want to lose him…and the worst part is that I deserve to."

Jessica didn't seem to understand though. She was too fixated on the idea of showing Bella the proof that Edward had been cheating on her and making her get over him for good. It was about time that she got payback for all those times Bella made her feel worthless. "But Annie, this is the perfect opportunity…we can't let it slip by."

"I can and I will. Trust me Jessica, I've talked to Bella and I know she won't leave him. She's too obsessed with him; she put her life at risk for him! You were there; you were the one that saw her walk to those strange guys. I'll lose everything that means something to me, but she'll always have it."

Jessica finally began to think about it and understood. She looked down at Edward's shirt and realized that what Andromeda was saying was true. Bella was willing to kill herself for him, she couldn't live without him, so there was no reason she'd leave him just because he was cheating. Jessica scoffed, smiling, knowing that she was dumb. Knowing Bella, she would only try to 'work it out' between them…she would never leave. Jessica looked up at Andromeda and bit her lip. Andromeda looked desperate, and knowing her, she didn't want anyone to get hurt.

In fact, knowing her, she was the only one getting hurt. It was her own fault, she guessed, and Jessica wondered if she was going to continue letting herself do this. "Annie…just walk away."

Andromeda shook her head, hiding her face, "I've already tried…it's too hard. I'm too weak."

Jessica also wondered when was the last time she saw Andromeda cry…now that she thought about it, she actually cried often. Jessica sat down next to Andromeda and dropped the shirt. "I won't tell," she said, determined to keep it a secret. Andromeda was already making herself go through enough, and she didn't want to imagine what would happen if the town found out about it. "But you need to stop. Let Bella have him. If he he's cheating on her now, who's to say he won't cheat on you? And you're worth more than a guy who just does that to his girlfriend. If Bella really would stick with him if she found out, then she's an idiot."

Andromeda chuckled dryly, "We're both idiots." Jessica was right though, who's to say Edward won't do the same to her if Bella was out of the picture? She wanted to believe that Edward wouldn't, that if she were to ever have him to herself, he would stay dedicated to her. She knew, however, that there was a chance that she might be wrong. She didn't know…how was she supposed to? For some reason though, she trusted him anyway.

"So, let's talk about something else," Jessica said, trying to sound cheerful again. She went to Andromeda's computer and started searching up people on Facebook, talking about Tyler's recent updates. He was apparently dating Lauren now, since their relationship status was in 'currently in a relationship.' Andromeda smiled and sat down next to her while Jessica showed her around. Andromeda then introduced her to , which Jessica found to be too freaky for her taste.

Jessica eventually left and Andromeda wondered if that meant they were friends again. She knew about her and Edward, so that would make her at least a close acquaintance. Andromeda went to the nearest mirror and checked on her three cuts. With a bit of cover-up, they should be basically invisible at that point. Her stitches though, still needed to be removed. She was going to see her doctor the next day to get her stitches removed, more importantly the ones on her head since they still made Cat cry.

She sat in her room, wondering if it was a good time to call Shane or Crystal. She decided not to, if they wanted someone to talk to, they could call anyway. She lied down on the bed, finding her eyes were constantly closing. She was still wearing contacts though, and she went to take them out. It was almost too hard to take them out at that point, and she quickly took a shower after she did.

It was nine at night, but she was exhausted. She picked at her stitches a bit and hoped it wouldn't be long before she got them removed. She went back out to her room and walked towards her drawer to get some underwear. She didn't know why, but the room felt slightly colder, like if someone had opened the window. She looked up and saw Edward sitting on a corner of her room, looking out the window he had come in through.

"Get out," she said, holding the towel closer to her.

He glanced towards her and smiled, "I won't look…just don't imagine anything."

"I'm not changing here." She grabbed some clothes, uncaring if she looked attractive or not, and went to change. She honestly didn't want to get too made up to sleep just to impress Edward, it was pointless. 'Pervert,' she thought, putting her clothes on. She brushed her hair but gave up on it. She would handle it in the morning.

She stepped outside again and saw Edward smirking. He must've heard her thoughts and found them somehow entertaining. She only rolled her eyes at him and he laughed. "What's so funny?" she asked, becoming annoyed at him. He only shook his head and chuckled a bit. He walked towards her until he was sitting next to her. Surprisingly, she didn't push him away.

"You're very moody," he said, smiling. He knew what was on her mind at that moment and became serious again. She was worried about what Jessica had said, whether or not he would cheat on her. He sighed and pushed back a stray lock of her hair. "I've already tried to stay away from you…but I couldn't. It was too much. You mean everything to me."

Andromeda looked down and closed her eyes, "I don't believe you."

"I don't expect you to, and I also don't expect you to believe that I don't want to see you hurt." Edward made her turn towards him and sighed. He leaned in and kissed her eyelid, which he felt he was being pulled towards. She opened her eyes and stared at his golden ones, being drawn to him as well.

She didn't want to admit that she couldn't see him very well, and stayed silent. He only chuckled though, and got her glasses. He put them on out of curiosity and smiled towards her. She only laughed at him and took them off. "You look stupid," she said, unwilling to put her glasses on.

He laughed as well and took the glasses from her, putting them on her face. "You look enchanting." She only continued to laugh, blushing while she did so. "Then again, nerdy has always been more of my taste."

"Thanks, you make me feel so good about myself."

"That's what I'm here for."

Andromeda turned serious and sat down, "I don't believe you." He turned towards her and looked at her for a moment. He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, refusing to back away despite her pushing on his shoulders. Her arms eventually stopped resisting and pulled him closer instead, betraying her conscience. She was getting warm again, and he knew he had to stop. He couldn't though, he was too drawn in.

"There's somewhere I want to take you tomorrow," he mumbled against her skin. She could barely understand what he was saying, but she caught most of it. He only continued dragging his lips downward, towards her upper chest, feeling more heat starting to pool in her chest and cheeks. She tried pushing against him again, but it was pitiful.

"Where?" she finally asked, but thinking about him stopping. He did so and pulled away from her, finding he was going overboard with it himself. He kissed her forehead and half-smiled at her.

"It's a surprise." He pulled away from her and picked up his shirt that he had abandoned a day ago. He looked back at her for a moment before sighing. "Get some rest." She nodded towards him, her tiredness coming back. He left the room and waited outside until he could see her dream again. It was about him, and once again, the small white puppy showed up.

He paid attention to the small dog, trying to memorize exactly what it looked like and wondering where she had seen it. Wherever it was, she had obviously never stopped thinking about the small dog. She had also never stopped thinking about him. He could've stayed, but he went to visit Bella. As usual, her mind was blank to him, but he saw her holding herself, crying as she slept. There really was no winning; he had known that for a while now, but he tried anyway to escape reality.

The next day arrived and she got ready to go to the doctor and finally take off her stitches. Her mother had attempted to do it herself, but Cat would only walk in and start crying every time she saw one of them being tampered with. Andromeda was more comfortable with the doctor doing it than her mother holding pliers, and convinced her that she should go have it removed by a physician. Her father agreed with the idea, since Cat's crying had given him a headache that he hadn't experienced since they were babies.

Andromeda didn't have to wait long though, since they didn't have much people in that day. The doctor tried to create some small talk between them and Andromeda wondered if that was requirement that all doctors had to do. She talked to him anyway, despite him removing the stitches while she did so. She soon realized that the doctor was talking to her to keep her from thinking about the pain from the stitches, and decided it was a good idea.

"Sounds like you've got a lot on your plate," the doctor said, cutting one stitch.

"I guess, but it's really not that much. It just kind of piled on since I couldn't go to school for a few days," Andromeda replied, wincing.

"So you're upset you couldn't go?"

Andromeda laughed, "No, I'm upset I had to keep go back."

The doctor laughed as well and said it figured. He talked a bit about his life when he was in high school and then let her comment from there. By the time she had finished talking about what she had to do to make up the work; the doctor was done removing her stitches. It took some time, but it wasn't as bad as she thought. He directed her back to the waiting room and a nurse led another patient to wait for him in the other room. He quickly left to attend to the other patient and Andromeda paid the thirty dollar copay.

She got back to her house and was walking in when she saw Edward standing near a forested area. "Edward?" she whispered and he turned towards her, as if responding. He motioned her to move towards him and she did so, still wondering where he wanted to take her. "Now?" she asked and he nodded. He turned and looked deeper in the woods, calculating how much time it would take to get where he wished to take her.

"It's some time from here, so I suggest now," he replied. "We can go in your car. It'll be faster that way."

"So we're driving there? I hope it's not an arcade…I really suck at video games."

Edward chuckled, "We're driving there up to a point. So no, it's not an arcade. Also, how can you be bad at playing video games? They're easy."

"Says you. They're tricky for me."

He laughed and suddenly was in the driver's seat, waiting for her to enter the car. She walked over at him and rolled her eyes. "Show off," she said and he smiled. She got into the passenger seat and looked at him for a moment. She decided it would be better to let him drive. Her arm was still a bit sore from getting her stitches removed and she didn't feel like thinking about driving.

He started the car and began heading off to wherever he was taking her. Andromeda kept wondering if people could see him and what he would do if he was caught with her. "So far, nobody's seen I'm here," he answered for her. She sighed and silently wished he wouldn't be able to read her mind. He only laughed and shrugged, "I'll try to give you some privacy." She smiled and looked out the window, beginning to imagine herself dancing in front of a stage.

She looked up at the clouds and continued her daydream. There was something running around her though, as if wanting to join her in her dance. Andromeda smiled as she picked up the small cotton colored puppy and let her dance with her. She imagined herself finishing the dance, but when she was done the puppy, and Edward, were gone. Edward only held her hand, to remind her that he was there with her. He was still curious about the small pup though.

"We're here," he said, stopping at a small grassy area. Andromeda got out and noticed there was no trail, only that small grassy area and beyond it, forest. Edward took her hand and motioned his head towards the woods. "Come on." He seemed to smirk as they got to the entrance to the forest and looked back at her. "Do you want me to carry you or can you walk?"

Andromeda chuckled, "I can walk." At that moment, the forest became her stage and Edward her leading man. He led her through the forest, helping her jump over tall roots and watching her as she looked at the trees as if they were part of the ballet. He heard her laugh and looked towards her. "You know," she began, "if life is a stage, I need better lighting."

He smiled as well and they continued walking. Watching Andromeda when she walked through the forest was so different from watching Bella. Andromeda had controlled balance, and good perception of her surroundings which came as a result of eleven years of work. Bella, while being adorable, seemed to tumble on everything she walked on, leaving Edward constantly anxious. He watched Andromeda as if she were already on stage, performing for him and an invisible audience.

Some hours had passed and Edward redirected Andromeda past the forest and into a new clearing. There was a small body of water there, shimmering as the sun hung above it. Andromeda stared in amazement at the water reflecting the sky, and for a moment, she couldn't tell where the water ended or where the sky started. Edward let her admire the small lake and continued leading her past the lake.

They continued walking through the lush area and Andromeda saw he was leading her up a small grassy hill. It wasn't steep at all, so she could easily climb up it without him having to carry her. She enjoyed walking up the hill. She could look back and watch as the lake became more magnificent with every step. She looked up and saw several birds resting near the water, flying about and testing the air.

"We're here," Edward said once they reached the top. The top of the hill was covered in the most breathtaking green grass she had ever seen. She looked around it and noticed there were occasional flowers blooming around the top, with little bumblebees resting on top of them and moving on to the next flower. She couldn't believe such a place existed, or that Edward had found it. "I found it for you," he said, sitting down.

He smiled towards her, looking around afterward and sighed. "I'm glad you decided to wear clear contacts," he said as she sat down next to him. She rested her head against his shoulders and felt him pull her closer to him. He kissed one of her eyelids again and they both lied down on the grass.

"Why?" she asked, confused on why he would be glad about that. She honestly didn't think much about that, and remembered that she needed to get some new colored contacts. She looked around and was more curious to know about his motives. "Why did you take me here?" She knew that Bella and he had their own meadow, but she didn't know why he would find something for her.

He looked at her and pushed her bangs to the side, "The color reminded me of your eyes. This hill was the closest I could find that even begin to match the brilliance of your green eyes. Of course, it's still nothing compared to you."

She blushed and chuckled, "So cheesy." She couldn't help feel elevated though, that he thought so highly of just her eyes. She touched the side of his own eyes and looked at his own golden eyes. "Were your eyes always this color?" she asked, thinking about how beautiful they really were.

He shook his head, "They were green when I was a human. A mossy green in my opinion, it would embarrass me if I measured them up to yours."

"I don't believe you…I think they've always been beautiful." He kissed her forehead and Andromeda wondered about his human life. She wondered if he remembered anything about it, despite it being so long ago. He seemed to remember some things, like his eye color and when he was born and such, but he never spoke much about it.

"They're not good memories," he said. She nodded, not wanting him to think about something that causes him pain if he doesn't want to. She figured he remembered, put she wouldn't push him on about it. 'You don't have to tell me,' she thought, and he sighed. She was still wondering how much he remembered but took it back when she realized he was hearing everything. "Not much," he replied.

She inched closer to him and rested her hand on his chest. "What do you remember?" she asked. He took her hand and looked at her. He didn't like opening old wounds, but feeling her warm hand on his chest, he felt that maybe she could close it again. He caressed her cheek and held her hand closer to him.

"As I said…not much." She looked down, understanding and leaned against his touch. She noticed his skin becoming warmer and tried to remember something about science that mentioned heat transferring. It didn't matter; she didn't have to know if he wasn't willing to tell her. He looked back at the clouds and closed his eyes. "I remember the day my father died. I didn't know I was sick at that moment…I didn't know my mother was sick as well. I didn't cry much at his funeral, and to this day, I keep wondering why. His death didn't seem to impact me very much…in fact, I think I only cried because I felt guilty."

Andromeda stayed silent and moved closer to him. She pressed her palm against his chest and kissed his jaw. "I'm sorry," she whispered. She wanted to comfort him, but there was so little she could say. He shook his head and smiled at her. "You are comforting me," he said and rested his hand on her waist. She nodded and smiled, glad that he thought so.

"I never cried for my mother…I never could. After Carlisle changed me, I was determined to save but," he paused for a moment and looked away. "I found out she was gone…I was too late. I loved my mother. Even though she was sick, she still refused to rest just so she could take care of me. After everything she did for me, I should've been a better son." He seemed to be struggling with his words, and Andromeda understood how much he must've gone through when he lost his mother. "I should've been the one taking care of her. I was younger than she was, I was still healthy by the time she began falling ill. She deserved a better son…I never got to tell her goodbye, or cry for her when I wanted to…I never even got to tell her I loved her. I should've when I had the chance, when I saw her for the last time, when she told me something I'll never forget."

"What?"

"She loved me."

Andromeda saw him suddenly appear like he was mourning again. She couldn't imagine losing her own mother, and living with the fact that she was helpless to prevent it. She kissed Edward gently and let him embrace her. She didn't want him to think about those things, and she regretted asking him. He only shook his head and whispered something about not regretting what she did. He wanted to tell her, it was his choice. He wanted Andromeda to know about the world he kept hidden away.

"Sometimes I figure it all happened for the best," he continued, the ache in his chest lifting. "I can't help but wonder though, if she would be proud of me if she was still here. Even though I've killed men, and have hurt people…I wonder if she would still love me as her son." He smiled and looked towards Andromeda, pressing his lips briefly against hers. "I'm sure she would've been glad I found someone like you."

Andromeda smiled, "I'm sure she is. As long as you're happy."

"And who knows? Maybe it was better to let her go than damn her for eternity. I could never do that to someone I loved…that's why I just can't turn you or Bella."

Andromeda noticed how he grimaced when he said Bella and realized that Bella wanted to become a vampire. She touched his glistening skin and took a deep breath. She couldn't understand why Bella would want to throw away her humanity, but silently knew it was to be with Edward forever. Andromeda loved Edward, she had no doubts about that, but she wasn't sure if she was willing to throw her life away.

"I guess me and Bella are a bit different there," she said and Edward turned towards her. She wasn't sure what she was saying, but she was confident in her next words. "I'm happy as a human. As long as I have my humanity, I know there's a chance my dreams would come true. Ever since I was a little girl, I've worked so hard in becoming what I've always wanted to be…I can't imagine throwing it all away."

Edward smiled and completely embraces her. "I don't want you to throw it away. I would never forgive myself if you did for me."

"Edward," Andromeda said and he listened. "Bella…you need to return to her. I'm not like her…she needs you." Edward looked at for a moment and looked down. "I wouldn't want you dying for me, so I think you don't her dying for you. I would want you to go on and live for me…show me life through your eyes, and let my love live on through you."

Edward shook his head, "I'm a bigger risk for her than you think. I do want her to live on, that's why I can't go back. I don't want to be the reason she doesn't."

Andromeda rested her head against his chest and thought about Bella. The only reason Edward wasn't with her was because of her blood, it was too appealing to him. Andromeda's blood was almost nothing compared to hers, but it was still human blood. She knew that Edward still wanted to be with Bella, and she moved away from him.

Edward didn't say anything, but just watched her. He wanted to pretend he didn't, or couldn't hear anything she was thinking, and pushed her thought aside, despite it affecting him. Andromeda picked up a small sharp rock and Edward tried to understand what she was doing. She wasn't thinking about it though, she was just imagining herself dancing and doing things without thought. "Andromeda," he said, almost demanding she tell him what she was doing.

She didn't answer though and pressed the sharpest end of the rock against a patch of skin on her collarbone. She dragged the small stone down, creating a small cut where she had previously been. She dropped the object in her hands and let blood start seeping out of the small cut. "You can drink mine," Andromeda said and Edward's was shocked in realization. She was offering to become his blood donor, to let him drink her blood.

She figured the only reason him and Bella were apart was her blood, and she knew that animal blood sometimes wasn't enough. Maybe if she gave him her own blood, then the thirst wouldn't be so bad, and maybe he'd be able to spend his time with Bella. She only wanted him to be happy, and maybe being with Bella would do it. Edward let himself be pulled to her small cut, and he kissed it, tasting her blood.

"I'm happy with you," he said, pulling himself away from the cut. He ignored the burning in his throat and added pressure to her small cut to keep it from bleeding any longer. "Drinking from you would be the same turning you, and I can't do that. I love you as a human, and I refuse to let you reduce yourself to food. Not over something like that. Not when you mean so much more."

Andromeda shook her head, "It's the least I can do…I love you."

Edward moved his lips from the small cut to her lips. "Then don't," he murmured and continued kissing her. She mentally apologizes to him, and he holds her closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let him do the same around her waist. They were sitting up again, but Andromeda was sitting on his lap while he kissed the curve of her neck. She pulled him back towards her lips, feeling the heat once again pool in her chest.

She was growing warm, almost too warm for him to handle. He ran his hand up her waist, wanting to feel her warmth. She did make him glad; she was everything and more to him. He wasn't living in constant fear around her; he could kiss her freely without having to worry about killing her. No, he knew he could never kill her, it was impossible. He was grateful that someone like her was capable of loving someone like him. He never wanted to leave her, not again.

He separated from her for a moment, and kissed her ardently. "Marry me," he whispered against her lips. She separated from him and looked in confusion. Maybe she didn't hear right, but she did. "Will you marry me?" he proposed again and Andromeda looked down, confusion and guilt setting in. She couldn't marry him, she simply couldn't. He loved Bella, and she had Peter, they couldn't just…forget.

She wanted to forget, but it was inescapable. She could never marry Edward, not when she loved Peter, not when she knew he loved her as well. "Don't say that," she said, holding her chest. How could he say that? After everything he had put Bella through, he proposed to her, he proposed to the wrong person. She wasn't supposed to be with Edward, she was supposed to be with Peter, it was all wrong. "I can't…" she faltered, finding herself crying.

She stood up and began walking away. It was impossible for her to run, not with the pain in her chest. Edward stood up and grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "Andromeda, look at me," he said, but she only shook her head, refusing to look up. She couldn't look up, it would destroy her to.

"Let me go!" she cried, fighting against him. He pulled her into an embrace, but she still tried pushing against him. She wanted the feeling of fault to go away and just leave her alone for one day. She tried to forget about his proposal, but she couldn't. She knew deep inside she wanted to marry him, she wanted to spend her life next to him, but she also wanted to be with Peter, she also wanted to always have him.

"Andromeda, marry me," Edward persisted. She shook her head and he let her go. She wanted to accept, and just say she would, but she couldn't. Edward understood, and he also wanted to forget about the world. He wanted her to tell him that she'd marry him and they'd just leave and never come back. "I love you."

"I can't. I just can't forget about everything and marry you," she said and finally looked up at him. "I do love you…I do, but I just can't forget about my parents, or my friends or Peter. I can't do that! Even if I do accept, what do you expect me to do? Not tell my parents and just run away…just give up everything? I can't…" She turned to walk away but was once again stopped by Edward. She wanted him to let go and forget he ever said any of that. "Edward, I won't leave m—"

"Just forget about everyone, for just one moment, forget," he interrupted. She stood still and Edward held her from behind. "Just stop thinking about everyone for once, and pretend it's us and there's no one else…will you marry me?" Andromeda thought about it and chuckled humorlessly. She held his hand and rested against him, knowing he already knew.

"Yes," she replied and he held her closer to him. She turned around and held him close as well. She looked up at the sky for a moment and imagined just a brief image of only her and Edward, with the small cotton colored puppy. "I love you," she said, hearing no heartbeat coming from his chest. If only she could truly believe that it was all that simple. That Bella didn't exist or that he loved only her. She knew though, that she would always love Peter as well, and she couldn't stop loving him. She was too selfish to do so, despite her not wanting to be. "But I never will," she said pulling herself away from him. "Reality will never stop."

Bella wouldn't let him go, she'd kill herself before she let him go, and Andromeda knew that. She couldn't live her life with him knowing she destroyed the life of someone else, and hurt someone she loved. Though, she could, for just one moment, pretend that reality didn't exist. He held her again, and for that moment, she pretended they were going to get married. She didn't care how young she was or how it looked to others, she only wanted to be with him…so she was for that one moment.

* * *

**Not much to say, but just know I was writing like this: -.- and :D **

**Well, I decided to explore more of Edward's past than the book shows us, and I hope I did a good job with it. XD K! See ya next time!**

**Thanks 4 reading!**

**Plz Review! (if you want to)**

**XxKissOfDeathxX**

**just another note: I've been accused of just wanting reviews, and I just want to say that I'm not doing this for reviews, I'm doing it because I love it and it entertains me! Plus, I've already given a hint hint nudge nudge for my future plans, so I took it off. XD Hope you like it as much as I like writing it! Thanx!**


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